God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Returning to the cave entrance, Ka’z could see several members of the colony moving between the abandoned goblin camp and the entrance, carrying weapons, sacks of food, leather armor and whatever other supplies they considered useful. The Ashmork clans defeat had left Vaal’kor with a considerable amount of spoils. The sight made Ka’z slow his steps for a moment as he looked over the camp. The weapons alone were enough to outfit every body from man, women and children in the colony.

Meanwhile the captured food had been added to their existing reserves. Between what they already possessed and what the goblins had left behind, their food supply had increased to nearly eight months. If not for the heavy casualties that had reduced their population by almost half, the war could almost have been considered beneficial to the colony’s development.

Almost.

The thought immediately reminded Ka’z of the bodies that still needed to be buried, and whatever satisfaction he might have felt over their gains disappeared. They had gained weapons, food and experience, but they had paid for every advantage with the lives of people he had known since childhood.

He continued toward the entrance without saying anything, his expression becoming increasingly distant as he passed the workers.

Za’r was waiting near the entrance when he arrived, and the sight immediately caught him off guard. She had a rare look of irritation on her face, but beneath it was an obvious tension that told him she wasn’t simply angry.

The meeting was still taking place inside the sanctuary, and Ka’z had deliberately presented his plan to pursue the surviving goblins early because he wanted to leave as soon as possible rather than remain through the entire discussion. He had not expected Za’r to leave the meeting and wait for him here.

"Why do you keep doing these things without talking to anyone?" she asked, her voice carrying equal parts annoyance and caution.

Ka’z stopped in front of her and stared into her eyes. He said nothing. Za’r maintained her expression for several seconds, but the longer the silence continued, the more her resolve began to weaken. She shifted slightly beneath his gaze, clearly uncomfortable with how calmly he was looking at her. Nearly half a minute passed before Ka’z finally raised a brow.

"And get into another argument after what happened last night?" he asked. "I’ll pass."

Za’r shook her head immediately. "Even if you didn’t tell the others, you should have at least come back last night and told me. Aren’t we supposed to be a couple?!"

Several workers passing through the entrance suddenly slowed down. One of them inhaled at exactly the wrong moment and began coughing violently while another immediately turned his head away, pretending to be deeply interested in a sack of potatoes nearby.

Ka’z’s eyes shifted toward them, and the workers instantly became extremely busy with their respective tasks, suddenly finding absolutely nothing interesting about the conversation happening beside them.

Ka’z looked back at Za’r and opened his mouth, but no words came. He wanted to tell her that after everything that happened yesterday, he had been in no condition to return to the sanctuary and pretend everything was fine.

The decision to pursue the survivors had also needed to be made immediately. Yet explaining any of that would likely lead to another argument about whether he should go or not, and he simply didn’t have the energy for it.

"Let’s talk about this when I get back," Ka’z said calmly.

"No!" Za’r refused immediately. "I spent most of yesterday worrying that something might happen to you, and I didn’t even get to see you after the war. Now I’m supposed to sit back and worry about you going off to fight in an entirely different region filled with hundreds of enemies?!"

Her voice trembled slightly toward the end, and the anger in her expression began giving way to something much more vulnerable. She looked at him for a moment before lowering her voice.

"Don’t you think you’re being too cruel?"

That broke through the last of Ka’z’s defenses. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

Za’r stiffened in surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected the gesture in public and immediately tried to push herself away, her face flushing when she realized several workers were still nearby. Ka’z didn’t release her. He simply held her firmly, his chin resting lightly against the top of her head as the workers around them suddenly became experts at pretending they could not see anything.

"I’m sorry," he muttered.

Za’r remained silent for several seconds. Eventually, the tension left her shoulders, and she stopped trying to pull away. The two remained like that while people continued moving through the entrance around them, carrying supplies and weapons as though the pair standing in the middle of the passage did not exist.

"Our friendship is falling apart," Za’r finally whispered. "We’re no longer the good friends we were nearly a year ago when all of this started."

That was what frightened her most. The team that had once moved together without hesitation was slowly becoming divided into separate groups with different priorities, different beliefs and different ideas about what Vaal’kor needed. They could still stand together when danger appeared, but the unity they once possessed was no longer the same.

"Everyone has grown enough to have strong opinions about how they think things should be," Ka’z finally said. "And we’ve come to understand that our thoughts are different. It’s only natural that we grow apart."

Za’r slowly pulled her head back and looked at him.

"We can work it all out and everyone can be happy like before."

Ka’z shook his head and released a tired sigh.

"We want different things now, and we have different ideas about how best to protect the colony. It’s normal that we’re doing different things now, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re all family."

Za’r shook her head again. She clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

"We were meant to do everything together and support each other all the time."

"But that isn’t the case anymore, and you’ll have to learn to understand that simple fact," Ka’z gently interrupted.

He wasn’t saying it to hurt her. He simply couldn’t pretend anymore. People changed. Their interests changed, their ambitions changed and sometimes the direction they wanted to take their lives changed completely. He had seen enough of that during his previous life to understand it instinctively.

Even if he reconciled with Tu’ka completely, it wouldn’t change the fundamental difference between them. Ka’z wanted to build outside the cave and establish something larger, while Tu’ka wanted to keep everyone underground where the colony could remain protected. Neither of them was necessarily wrong, but they couldn’t both have their way.

The least they could do was respect each other’s choices and continue living as family.

Ka’z had no hatred toward any of them. He simply wasn’t willing to spend the rest of his life arguing with people who lacked the knowledge necessary to understand what he was trying to accomplish. He was the one who had lived a human life. He was the one who understood how civilizations were built, how populations expanded and how a settlement could transform into something capable of surviving generations. More importantly, he was the one who had been chosen to save Vaal’kor.

If they already possessed the knowledge and ability to save their people, there would have been no reason for him to be here.

Now that he finally possessed enough strength to begin making the changes he believed were necessary, he wasn’t going to abandon his mission simply because the people around him disagreed with his methods.

Before Za’r could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps drew both their attention toward the cave entrance.

Ka’z’s team emerged from the tunnel carrying their equipment. Spears and shields were strapped across their backs, while several of them carried bows and quivers filled with arrows. Bigi and Bruk were the only two wearing complete armor sets, their larger bodies strong enough to carry the additional weight without being slowed significantly.

The others had chosen lighter equipment, preferring mobility for the journey ahead. Each member also carried a sizable sack containing food, water and other supplies they would need on the road.

Mi’ya immediately noticed Za’r holding onto Ka’z and shot her an irritated glance. The other members of the group were considerably less subtle. A few of the males exchanged knowing looks before winking at Ka’z, who ignored all of them.

His attention had already moved toward the back of the group.

Kong’gong and Lan’ka were approaching together and something was wrapped in thick cloth between them.

The sight immediately drew Ka’z’s attention, and he watched as the two stopped in front of him. Lan’ka shifted the weapon in his hands before slowly pulling the cloth aside.

Ka’z’s eyes widened.

Ding!

[Name: Ashin Grim]

[Weapon Type: Battle Ax]

[Spells: Lightning Cutter & Lightning Blade]

"This is..." Ka’z’s voice trailed off.

Kong’gong nodded firmly while Lan’ka held the weapon toward him.

"If you’re going to do this alone, you’ll need all the help you can get. Take it," Lan’ka said.

Ka’z stared at the battle ax for several seconds. He recognized it immediately.

This was the weapon Grash had used to slaughter their warriors. The same weapon that had cut through his dragon scales as though their bodies were nothing more than grass.

For everything that had happened during the battle, he had almost forgotten about it entirely.

Ka’z slowly reached out and wrapped his fingers around the handle. The weight of the weapon settled into his palm, and something deep within his eyes changed as he looked down at it.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

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