Northern Part of the Caligare Forest, near the border of the province of Brettholz.

  A chilly breeze was blowing through the trees while two of the three moons of Aos shone in the sky, illuminating the snow-covered forest. It was a beautiful landscape for sure, but those foolish or desperate enough to be traveling at such a time would definitely be too busy trying not to freeze to death to enjoy this wondrous sight.

  Or at least, that was the case for Tek-Tek.

  The kobold slowly trudged through the snow, hating every moment of it. He hated the cold and the freezing breeze that caressed his fur and made him shiver. He hated the moonlight reflected by the snow that hurt his eyes, used to the darkness of caves. He hated feeling so exposed, without walls and a ceiling above his head. And most of all, though he wouldn't actually admit it out loud, he hated being alone.

  The last thing wasn't really unusual since Kobolds were extremely social creatures who were prone to panicking without others around them, but Tek-Tek was a seasoned scout and forager who prided himself in being easily able to work alone for long periods of time. He still had his limits though, and traveling through an unknown part of the forest in the middle of winter was pushing them. Unfortunately for him, his people needed someone to scout ahead and he was one of the very few experienced scouts left, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure this solitary march through the snow.

  The forest was completely silent and looked utterly deserted, but Tek-Tek knew better than to lower his guard because of it. Underestimating the Caligare forest, no matter the time, was a sure path to an early grave, or at least someone’s belly, and so he forced himself to proceed with extreme caution, even though this made his advance slower.

  As the hours passed, one of the moons slowly disappeared over the horizon, while the sky to the east became brighter as dawn approached. Tek-Tek was starting to feel exhausted, but he kept going, determined to scout ahead until the sun was up. He would have all the time to rest during the day, when the light was too intense for him to proceed.

  As he walked, however, he started noticing some changes in the forest. The trees were somewhat sparser, there was less undergrowth and on the ground there were several trails clearly visible even under the snow. From these signs, he realized that he had been getting close to an inhabited area.

  After taking notice of this he started proceeding with even more caution, since he didn’t know how the locals would treat a kobold if they happened to spot him. Besides, his mission wasn’t to make contact with the humans. Other, more qualified kobolds would handle the diplomatic business, he just had to scout the area and report back. And with some luck, he could be back to the scout camp in just a few days and then enjoy some rest while the others decided what to do.

  With this hope in his heart, he kept walking even as the sun was rising and the light was getting uncomfortably bright, not wanting to lose any more time now that he was so close, and only a few minutes later he finally reached the end of the forest.

  However, when he saw what laid beyond the trees, he froze.

  He had indeed reached the northern edge of the Caligare forest and the dense vegetation came to an abrupt end about ten metres from him. However, beyond that border there wasn’t the human farmlands he had expected, but rather a vast territory completely covered by a gray, waxy substance that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was an alien and creepy landscape that looked like the very earth was being infected by an unknown parasite that had extinguished every other form of life.

  The kobold stared at that mold-wax in disbelief, feeling his hope turn into dread and despair. He remained completely immobile for a while, paralyzed by the shock. Only after a few seconds did he manage to shake himself from this stupor. His kin relied on him to scout out the territory ahead for potential threats and now he had found one, so it was his duty to immediately inform the others, no matter the cost. So, with extreme caution in order to not alert the things that lived on that gray wasteland, he turned back and slowly started making his way back into the forest. He ignored the now intense sunlight and his own fatigue, as resting too close to the mold-wax covered territory was tantamount to suicide, and he couldn’t afford to die now.

  He had to let his people know that the bugs had reached here too.

  Winter Garden of the Medelan Royal Palace, Rennhafen.

  Marcus was feeling extremely bored, something that he should have been used to at this point but that still irked him nonetheless.

  He was sitting at a tea table in a big greenhouse in the winter garden of the Medelan Royal Palace. The garden itself was located inside of a courtyard and filled with evergreen bushes covered by a patina of snow, while the greenhouse was heated and housed several species of exotic flowers. It was a beautiful place for sure, but the Vex Queen couldn't help but think that the garden in the Serrai looked even more gorgeous. Not that he had any intention of mentioning this detail out loud. Who knows, his host might take offence to that.

  Sitting at the opposite end of the table, king Leopold Reven was smiling warmly as he conversed with Eisen and Trakk. Dressed in normal, if elegant, clothes instead of his royal clothes he looked just like a regular person, and this coupled with his informal and even friendly attitude had dispelled any sort of awe that Marcus might have left for being in the presence of a king. The Vex Queen had even enjoyed Leopold’s conversation since the king had proved to be a very congenial host, but unfortunately this was short lived since shortly after their introduction the topic had shifted to politics.

  Trakk in particular had monopolized the conversation, talking with the king and the duke about his plans to better integrate his kin into Medelanian society. It was certainly an important discussion and Marcus was making an effort to follow it, but that didn’t change the fact that he found it rather boring, especially since it didn’t involve him at all and he had nothing to contribute.

  “So you said that human-hobs would be the easiest to integrate into human society, but how do you plan to make more of them now that you are at peace with us humans?” King Leopold was asking. “From what I know about your species, you need to fight enemies in order to develop into a similar form to them.”

  “That's only partially correct, your majesty.” Trakk replied with his usual calm confidence. “What we goblins really need in order to evolve is to really feel and understand the strength of another creature. While it's true that fighting is the easiest way for us to make this realization, it's actually possible to achieve it through non-violent methods.” He smirked smugly. “I am actually living proof of this, since I evolved into a General just by observing the humans I was living with at the time.”

  “I see.” The king nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Indeed.” The goblin continued. “However, a complete lack of conflict would still stifle the number of evolutions. Unevolved goblins are not overly bright and therefore it'd be harder for them to understand the strength of humans through indirect methods.”

  “So, what would you do then? Do you want to have a war with us from time to time?” The king asked jokingly.

  “Obviously I wouldn't go that far.” The General replied. “But I believe that some kind of intense physical competition, preferably involving violence, would be of great help.”

  “You mean something like a tournament?” Eisen asked.

  “Actually, I think that something along the lines of a military exercise would work even better.” Trakk replied. “After all, we are trying to promote an evolution focused on discipline, intelligence and collaboration. Pitting a group of human soldiers against unevolved goblins should teach the latter about the value of those traits.”

  “I'm not sure that you could learn about intelligence from soldiers.” The king commented, once again in a joking tone. “Unless it's a lesson on the lack of it. But anyway, I see your point. So, do you propose to have joint military drills between the Medelan army and your people?”

  “Something like that, yes.” The goblin confirmed. “I think it would be mutually beneficial.”

  “I see.” Leopold nodded. “That seems reasonable, but unfortunately that's not up to me alone. The military is under the control of the Ministry of Defence, and currently I don't hold much sway with them since they are currently under the influence of the Council.” He paused for a moment, with a pensive expression on his face. “However, nothing stops Eisen from organizing military drills for his own militia. He could even justify it with the fact that he needs more troops to expand into the Caligare Forest. And I could send my Royal Knights to join in the exercises.”

  “That'd be of great help.” Trakk said. “Especially since exposing goblins to your knights would increase the chance of them becoming Goblin Champions.”

  “Very good. Medelan certainly needs more Aura Users.” Leopold said in an approving tone. “These exercises will probably have to wait until spring or even summer though, so we have all the time to discuss the details at a later date. For now, I have something else I want to talk about.”

  Marcus raised his eyebrow at these words, hoping that they were moving to a more interesting topic.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “It's the matter of the civic administration of the dukedom of Rodenheim.” Leopold continued, instantly dashing the Vex Queen’s hopes. “The civic administrator for the newly annexed territories shall be appointed directly by the state.”

  “But your majesty, as the ruler of the region, shouldn’t I be the one to appoint the administrators?” Eisen protested.

  “That has been the custom so far, yes.” The king replied. “But I want to change that custom.”

  “Why?” The Duke asked.

  “Because that would be an important step towards the centralization of the kingdom as a whole.” Leopold stated. “Under the current feudal system, each province is virtually independent from the crown, which has allowed the feudal lords to basically do whatever they want with relative impunity. They can even plot against the nation more or less openly and there is almost nothing I can do to stop them.” His tone, which had been light until now, suddenly turned serious. “That has to change. The kingdom has to achieve greater control over its provinces.”

  “I do agree with you, my liege.” Eisen said. “But how would appointing civic administrators help with this situation? I mean, by law they are still subjects of their respective feudal lords.”

  “Of course.” The king replied. “But having the ability to pick who will oversee local administration would give the state greater influence over the provinces. Not to mention, that would also make it significantly harder for the feudal lords to control or bribe them to hide their illegal activities.”

  “I understand now.” Eisen nodded. “However, I don’t think that passing such a reform would be easy. There is going to be a lot of pushback since this goes against tradition, and not just from the Council but also from neutral feudal lords.”

  “I agree.” The king replied. “Which is why, in order to make this reform more palatable to them, we need to set up a precedent to show that they have nothing to fear. And Rodenheim shall be that precedent. By seeing that you will lose none of your power and authority, the neutral nobles will be reassured, and without them the Council will not be able to stop this reform.”

  “Very well. Then you can count on me, your majesty.” Eisen said, bowing his head lightly. “I shall follow your directives for the good of the kingdom.”

  “Excellent. I would have expected nothing less from you, Eisen.” The king complimented him.

  “I have a question though.” Trakk chimed in. “What does this mean for the Goblins and the Vex? Do we have to leave the appointment of our administrators to you as well?”

  Hearing the Vex being mentioned, Marcus, who had sort of zoned out a bit during all these political talks, suddenly started paying full attention once again.

  “Well, yours is a special case.” The king replied. “Both of your species are technically client races of Medelan rather than full citizens, which should give you a certain degree of autonomy as far as internal administration goes. This only applies for matters inside your territories and that involve only your races though.”

  Trakk and Marcus both nodded, showing no sign of emotion. As usual it was hard to tell what the goblin was thinking behind his impeccable poker face, while the Vex Queen simply didn’t care since this was a complete non-issue for him. After all, he didn’t really need administrators thanks to his hivemind telepathic powers.

  With this, Marcus had basically resigned himself to being just a passive audience for the tea party, and was about to serve himself some more tea and cookies when suddenly Leopold turned towards him.

  “And what about you, countess?” The king asked. “You've been very quiet. Don't you have anything you want to say?”

  “Ehr... well, I'm fine, I think.” Marcus replied, trying to sound as neutrally polite as possible. “I mean, it's not as if I need administrators in my territory, since I control all of my drones with my mind.”

  “Oh yes, I've been told about it.” Leopold said, his tone once again playful. “Your powers allow you to completely control your subjects, right? I must say I'm kinda envious. My job would be a lot easier if I could do the same!”

  “Eh. I wonder if you'd still think so if you had to give birth to your subjects.” Marcus thought sarcastically. Out loud, he said: “Well, my drones are pretty much just mindless animals without a will of their own. That's why I can control them so easily.”

  “I see.” The king said. “Well, in any case your job does sound easier than mine. But to each their own, I guess.” He paused for a moment, and then asked: “Moving to other subjects, may I ask what are your plans for the future?”

  “Mostly just expanding my territory into the Caligare forest and making some money by selling my Wyvern drones.” Marcus said. “Oh, and I might go on a trip sooner or later. I really want to see more of the Empire.”

  “Understandable.” The king said. “If I might give you a suggestion, I’d visit Alia, the Imperial capital, first. It’s full of interesting things to do and see.”

  “Thank you for your suggestion. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “However, I also wanted to talk with you about those Wyverns.” Leopold said. “More specifically, what is your business plan for them? Do you have any preferred buyer?”

  “Well, I’ve been selling to marquis… I mean duke Eisen so far.” Marcus replied, feeling as if he hadn’t understood the meaning of the question. “But I don’t have any specific plan. I was just going to sell them to those willing to pay for them.”

  “I see. In that case, would you be willing to sell them exclusively to me, at least for a while?”

  The Vex Queen raised an eyebrow, not having expected such a request. He gave a quick glance towards Eisen and Trakk, who both shrugged and nodded, clearly suggesting to go along with the king’s proposition.

  But Marcus felt a bit hesitant. On one hand, he could see that cultivating a friendly relationship with the monarch was important, but on the other he really wanted to make money with his Wyverns.

  “Well… I don’t really care who I sell them to.” He said cautiously. “But I wanted to sell a lot of them.”

  “Then we shall buy them all.” The king stated. “If the orc invasion proved anything is that we need to improve our military, and getting a proper aerial force would certainly be a good step towards that goal. How much would they cost, by the way?”

  “Hmmm… I wanted to sell them at one hundred Crowns per Wyvern, but I think I could give you a discount if you buy them in bulk.” Marcus replied. “However, might I ask what would happen when you have enough Wyverns? Would I be able to sell them to whomever I want after that?”

  “I don’t think that this is a pressing matter.” Leopold said. “In order to build up a sizable aerial force, we’re going to need a lot of these Wyverns. Not to mention that I could also use them for civilian purposes, like mail delivery and transportation. So you’re likely going to do business with us for quite a long time.”

  “Could you give me an estimate of how many Wyverns you’d need then?” The Vex Queen asked.

  “Well, on top of my head, I think that we’d need around three hundred Wyverns. Maybe a little more than that.” The king said. “How long do you think it’d take for you to produce that many?”

  “One year at most.” Marcus promptly replied, quickly doing the math of how many Wyvern eggs a Broodmother could lay daily, plus how long it’d take for the drones to reach maturity. “And half that if I put some effort into it.”

  The king opened his eyes wide in surprise after hearing this. He opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it and remained silent for a few seconds with a serious, pensive expression on his face.

  “Ehm… is everything alright?” The Vex Queen asked.

  “Oh, yes.” Leopold replied as he regained control of himself. “I was just surprised. I have been told that you Vex can multiply quickly, but I didn’t actually realize just how much. In any case, that rate of production might actually be a bit too quick. Could you perhaps slow it down a bit? Maybe take a couple years instead of just one, just to give us time to prepare?”

  “Well, yes, I can do that.” Marcus admitted. “But why though? Wouldn’t it be better for you to get these Wyverns as soon as possible?”

  “Not necessarily.” The king explained. “Though I’d like to get this aerial force as quickly as you proposed, I need to lay down the necessary groundwork for it first. Allocating funds, training people, building the proper infrastructures and all sorts of procedures like that.”

  “I see.” The Vex Queen replied, albeit with a hint of reluctance. He had planned to sell his Wyverns quickly in bulk, but if he accepted this proposal he’d have to take things slowly, which would also diminish the profit he’d made. But on the other hand refusing the king’s offer meant defying him, something that even someone as bad as politics as he knew was not a wise move.

  Noticing his mixed feelings, Trakk chimed in.

  “Well, if anything, this works to your advantage countess.” The goblin said. “Trying to sell too much of the same product too quickly would lead to its market value falling down, so it was better to take it slowly anyway.”

  Marcus never had much of a mind for finances, but what the General had said made sense to him. And with this realization, he felt a bit more content. Besides, he was still going to make a nice profit after all, just not quite as much as he had hoped for.

  “Well, if that’s the case, I guess that selling my Wyverns exclusively to you for a couple years is not a problem at all.” He said to the king.

  “Excellent.” The monarch said in an approving tone. “I thank you for your understanding, Countess.” He paused for a moment, and then asked: “By the way, may I ask if there are some limitations to your Wyvern production? Would making more Wyverns reduce your ability to expand into the Caligare Forest?”

  “Not really.” Marcus shrugged. “Quite the contrary actually. After all, the only limitation is how much food is available, and growing my territory should also give me more resources to make more drones.” He paused and added: “Oh, and there is also the fact that I need to eat samples from other creatures to copy their traits in my drones.” He paused for a moment before adding: “Speaking of which, maybe it’s better if I wait a bit before starting producing and selling Wyverns after all. I want to make them capable of flying a bit faster, but so far I can’t find a creature with the right traits for that.”

  “I see.” Leopold nodded. He remained pensive for another second and then added: “Well, I think I might be of help with that last problem. The Royal Academy keeps samples from many animals from all around the world in their museum, which include a lot of birds and other flying animals. If you wish, I could tell them to share them with you.”

  “Really?” Marcus replied, immediately perking up at the possibility to gain new DNA samples. “That would be fantastic. Could you really do that?”

  “Sure. If I couldn’t do something that simple, I might as well not be the king at all.” He smirked sardonically.

  “Thank you, your majesty.” The Vex Queen bowed his head.

  “No need to thank me.” The king replied. “It doesn’t really cost me anything. Besides, it could be considered an investment rather than a favor, since I’m also going to benefit from any improvement you’re going to make to the Wyverns.”

  “In that case, would it be a problem if I tried some other samples to improve my other drones as well?”

  “Feel free to do so.” Leopold said. “Just keep me updated on the modifications you intend to make on the Wyverns, if you can.”

  “I will.” Marcus replied. “Anyway, when could I go visit this museum?”

  “Well, I have to inform the Headmaster of your visit beforehand, but I could do it this evening if you wish.” The king replied. “This way he should be ready to receive you by tomorrow.”

  “That works for me.” The Vex Queen nodded. “I don’t have any plans for tomorrow anyway. Oh, and by the way, can I also bring a couple of friends with me? I think that my… uhm… attendants would enjoy visiting the museum.”

  “I can’t see why not.” The king shrugged. “The museum is accessible to the public after all.”

  “That’s good.” Marcus said. “Thank you, your majesty!”

  “As I said, there is no need to thank me.” Leopold replied with a smirk. “Just make sure to deliver a good product.”

  “I will, don’t worry your majesty!”

  After that, the discussion quickly returned to political topics that Marcus didn’t really care about. However this time he didn’t feel bored, since he now had something to look forward to. As the other three kept talking about complicated policies and political plots, he instead started fantasizing about the possible genetic traits he could find and what kind of drones he could make with them.

  “An entire museum worth of samples!” He thought, as a smile formed on his face. “Man, I wonder what traits I will find there! I can’t wait to see what I’ll get!”