Rikkit calls the workers into the half-built shelter. The kobolds gather around the unfinished wall, while he places his blue pack at the center like a marker.
Kobold 1
We choose a name today: the Maw Household. Tiamat gives us refuge, but she does not give us a voice. That remains ours.
Kobold 1
Bottu, witness this first gathering. Let every decision here be spoken openly, even when we disagree.
The workers turn toward Bottu, then toward one another. Some touch the rough stones of their shelter, while others glance uneasily toward the mountain entrance.
The Kobold Refuge Workers
We need duties before more arrive: builders, watchers, gatherers, and someone to keep our food stores fairly.
Kobold 1
Defense must protect the household, not command it. Newcomers may join our work, refuse a task, and still belong here.
A quiet debate follows over patrols, winter stores, and whether Tiamat’s banner might frighten those seeking shelter. Rikkit listens without settling the matter, leaving the circle open for Bottu’s witness and answer.
“Rikkit is correct. Let us establish laws and organization while we are building our new lives. Let’s come together and build our shape.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Bottu
Rikkit is correct. Let us establish laws and organization while we build our new lives. Let us come together and build our shape.
Bottu draws broad circles in the dust beside the unfinished wall, marking places for building, watching, gathering, and storing. The workers lean closer, but their agreement falters as each circle suggests another burden.
Kobold 1
The shape is good, but choosing every law today will bind us before we know what this household needs.
The Kobold Refuge Workers
We cannot promise equal duties when some are strong, some are wary, and some have not arrived. Let each group choose its own work first.
The gathering does not form the shared code Bottu sought. Instead, the workers separate his circles into four work boards, leaving space beneath each for names, duties, and objections.
Kobold 1
We can begin with one law: no decision stands unless everyone may hear it and answer. The boards can hold our first proposals until the next gathering.
The workers accept the boards and return to the wall, now sorting tasks openly rather than waiting for commands. A path toward a written charter has opened, though the household remains unorganized for today.
“It… was a start. I should remember my duties, asking if anyone knows about kingdoms and their wards.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Bottu
I should remember my duties. Does anyone here know about the kingdoms beyond us, or the wards protecting their lands?
The work boards remain propped against the unfinished wall. The kobolds exchange uncertain looks, their new household suddenly measuring itself against powers it has never studied.
The Kobold Refuge Workers
We know stories, not wardcraft. Kingdoms kept their borders sealed, and travelers learned which roads to avoid. We never held their councils.
Kobold 1
I cannot name every kingdom or tell you which seals still answer. Asking us as though we carry that knowledge makes the duty too large for this gathering.
Rikkit taps the board reserved for watchers, then draws a small mark beneath it. His hesitation does not close the question; it gives the household a narrower place to begin.
Kobold 1
But old tunnel guides copied warning signs near the northern borders. We can gather those scraps, compare their marks, and learn which wards our neighbors still fear.
The workers add a fifth space beneath the boards for gathered signs and travelers’ reports. Bottu receives no council answer, but a practical path toward ward knowledge takes shape.
The Kobold Refuge Workers
We can ask newcomers what they remember, and keep every account where the whole household may hear it.
“*I’m beginning to realize just how difficult it is to be a leader. But I do know we’ll need more hands and allies. My family, the Ice Maw tribe. I had to bring them here towards safety. I ask Tiamat if we can fly there while the others are busy building their homes.*”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Bottu
Tiamat, leadership is harder than I imagined. We need more hands and allies. Can we fly north to my family, the Ice Maw tribe, and bring them here safely?
Beyond the Maw’s entrance, the kobolds continue raising their shelters and sorting their work boards. Tiamat watches them, then turns her five heads toward the northern peaks.
Tiamat
Yes, Bottu. We can fly to the Ice Maw tribe while this household builds. I will carry you swiftly, and no one who chooses refuge will be left behind.
Tiamat lowers her immense foreclaw beside the Maw’s entrance. Bottu climbs aboard, and she rises into the clear morning, bearing him north over snow-bright ridges and frozen valleys.
The old ice cave appears beneath the mountain’s shadow. Tiamat descends before its entrance, and the Ice Maw tribe gathers from the tunnels, recognizing Bottu and approaching with guarded relief.
Tiamat
Your family has a place beneath the Maw. Come with us, if you choose, and build a safer home among those who are already waiting.