Divine Revelation

After taking a moment to bask and enjoy victory in the skies, Synthara had Nidhogg fly back to the entrance of the cave where Zhuul and Morgan waited with a group of beaten and tied down Orcs. The one at the front dropped his tusked jaw in disbelief as he saw his dragon god descend as a domesticated pet.

“No! Lord Nidhogg, what have they done to you!?” The Oghul tried to get up but Zhuul’s guards held him down

“Nidhogg’s been thoroughly disciplined, you’ve been a very bad influence on him.”

“I was supposed to be Jarl with his blessing, filthy human!” Zhuul slammed his fist into his stomach to silence him.

“He will not be a bad influence any longer. I will have him tortured publicly before I hang him from the walls. He’s been a thorn in my side for decades, I'll take my time with this.” Zhuul looked at Oghul dead in his eyes as he said this, making him flinch.

“May I make a suggestion? Since he’s clearly attached to his god, why don't we reunite them by serving him up as his dinner. The irony would be delicious.” Synthara said as if she was a child planning a prank.

Zhuul went silent as he thought about it. “I am not opposed, but he still should be tortured.”

“Of course! Make him pay for all those innocent orcs he’s gotten killed for who knows how long!” Synthara then looked at Nidhogg.

“Consider this a sample of what's to come if you continue to be a good boy.” Synthara paced in front of the dragon. “We have big plans coming into fruition. Plans involving tons of bloody meat being cooked and prepared in a big feast of death. Wouldn't you want to partake?” Synthara said sweetly.

Nidhogg narrowed its eyes. “I am Nidhogg, the oldest living Kobold, the only one among my kind to ever reach full maturity, do you think I can be so easily bought into slavery just by waving a few morsels in front of me?”

“I wouldn't call it slavery but yes. Our cause would love to have you and your people’s strength. You will have far more opportunities to unleash bloodshed and eat your fill under m-Synthara’s service.” Synthara smiled.

Nidhogg raised an eyebrow. “This goddess of yours will accept even Kobolds into the fold? The Orcs will certainly not.” Zhuul moved to speak but Morgan whispered something into his ear and he stayed silent.

“We will negotiate an agreement with the Orcs. Valhalla takes all who accept Synthara into their hearts regardless of their race or previous creed. I can see it now, I-er our goddess has great plans in the future, one day she will return and conquer all of the other kingdoms. I can see the great Nidhogg as one of my-her strongest warriors, destroying entire armies from above with your flame breath, earning endless glory and meat for your people. Not as scavengers who satisfy themselves off a few measly kills in the night, but as conquerors.”

Nidhogg salivated at the thought of endless meat, intelligent that he might be, he still thought like a Kobold in the end.

“Very well, I will await your goddess’ command to muster, though know that my patience is not infinite.”

“Fear not! I have a feeling the goddess will awaken very soon.” Synthara smiled at her inside joke. “Consider these orcs a token of what's to come and as a way of showing your devotion to Synthara.”

Within a few hours, the Order of the Black Dragon were all gathered before the entrance to the Drekht Forge where all of its members were tortured and fed to the dragon. It was a brutal spectacle that the Orcs loved.

The power Synthara showed by domesticating the dragon that's been terrorizing the orcs for most of the history earned her the undying loyalty and respect of their whole race. The Kobolds would follow the strongest. Synthara has both races under her thumb, now she just needs the Humans and the war can get started.

As Synthara and Morgan watched the torture spectacle from atop their raised seats, Morgan spoke up.

“Your power is truly amazing my lady, I expected you to kill it but to bend it to your will…”

“I know, I'm amazing, just god things you know?” Synthara said over the screams. “The orcs should have the forge ready soon?”

“Yes, though 800 years of Kobold living have taken its toll on the area. It will take some time to get it running again. Speaking of, what are we going to do with the Kobolds?”

Synthara raised her brow. “What do you mean? Wont they be added to the army?”

“The Wyverns I have already collected and stashed away. There weren't too many of them. I had the Jarl round up the remaining Kobolds and keep an eye on them. There aren't many left after the Orcs and you culled them in the battle. Speaking of, your foresight in the battle was instrumental in preventing casualties.” Morgan said with awe.

“Huh?”

Morgan continued. “The Kobolds were so prepared as to set up ambushes and traps along several points in the caves. The Orcs would have taken considerable casualties had you not stepped in and destroyed them. We had greatly underestimated the Kobolds, yet you saw through their deceptions. For that we owe you our lives my wise and merciful goddess!” Morgan bowed her head to Synthara as an Orc cried for mercy as the crowd cheered.

‘That explains why there were several rock and pitfall traps.’ Synthara nervously laughed. “Uh yes! I saw their potential! That cunning is why I wished to have them join our army.” Synthara smiled at her smooth segway.

“Their numbers will indeed be useful, but where would we keep them? The Orcs will never let them stay in the forge and they still need to eat, especially the Dragon.” Morgan said as the sound of crunching bones and ripping flesh pierced the air.

Synthara brought her hand to her chin as another Orc’s screams of pain permeated the air. “Arent there more volcanoes in the area?”

“Yes but they are in remote areas near enemy territory. It would be risky to keep a large group of Kobolds and a Dragon there.

‘Logistics are so annoying.’ Synthara thought to herself. There had to be a magical solution to this. As the dragon let out a breath of fire to roast the remaining traitors, Synthara had an idea.

“What if I made more caverns beneath the Forge that the Kobolds can reside in while the Orcs keep watch on them? The Dragon would have to stay in the forge but it will keep the Kobolds housed in one area.”

Morgan frowned apprehensively. “The Orcs might be able to tolerate the other Kobolds but they will not allow the Dragon in the forge. There's always the option of executing the Kobolds.”

“Executing them will risk alienating their leader. I am their goddess, they will follow whatever I damn please.” Synthara said authoritatively as Nidhogg began to munch on the corpses. “I will talk it over with the Jarl. He won't defy an order from their goddess after she just did them a large favor now would he?”

Morgan looked down pensively. “If you believe it to be possible, I will help however I can.”

After the execution concluded. Synthara and Morgan spoke to Jarl Zhuul in private about her plan for Nidhogg and the Kobolds. They walked within the forge surrounded by Orcs repairing the machinery within.

“That will be very hard for my people to accept, do you have some way of assuring that the Kobolds will not attack again?”

“I do, did you not see me ride the dragon as if it were a horse? That creature is like putty in my hands. Should he dare defy me, I implanted a magic bomb within him to take care of him whenever I please.” Synthara lied as easily as she breathed. “With the dragon a non-factor, I'm sure your people can easily dispatch a group of dwindled Kobolds can't they?”

Zhuul went silent for a long moment. “The Kobolds breed like rabbits, it won't take long for the Kobolds to replenish their numbers even accounting for their tendency to kill each other.”

“They won't have to stay there for long, just until the time is right for the invasion to begin. Plans are already in motion. Or do you doubt the word of your goddess?” Synthara said as she got in front of Zhuul and looked up directly into his eyes.

Zhuul eventually relented. “Very well, I will see to it that the Kobolds are provided a home and fed, though I cannot make promises regarding their safety.”

Morgan spoke up. “I can provide some assistance in creating the caverns and feeding them, Jarl.”

“That would be appreciated Royal Sorcerer.” Zhuul said as his foot collided into a white mineral structure shaped vaguely like a Kobold. An orc came to pick it up and walked away with it.

Synthara spoke. “What are those?”

Morgan responded. “Kobold corpses, if left out for a while, their corpses turn into dragonpowder. It's how the Orcs manage to maintain agriculture out here.”

“Fertilizer?”

“Yes. They also use it to make explosives.”

Synthara stopped as she called out for the Orc with the corpse to stop and let her see it. As she touched and observed it, her eyes widened as she realized that this substance was Nitre. Flashbacks of her making gunpowder as a child so she can cast fireball flooded her mind, blocking out the part where she set the house on fire and got beaten almost to death over it.

“How much of this do the Orcs have?”

“It is Ort’s main export.” Zhuul said with a small bit of pride.

Synthara’s smile grew wider as an idea to fix their undead army’s lack of proper weapons formed in her mind. She might have to adjust the chemical ratios slightly, but if she could also acquire Sulfur and Charcoal, which should be in abundance in a volcanic area such as this, then she could make gunpowder. If the Drekht Forge is as great as it's said to be, then making the guns themselves should not be too hard. The Orcs would just need a little guidance from their god who happens to have an extensive background in pyrotechnics. Synthara smiled giddily as she turned towards Zhuul and Morgan who were confused. She then used an illusion spell to project an image of a matchlock musket in between her hands.

“Consider what I am going to say next, a divine revelation.”