Blue diamond fill-ups

The young, blue dragon yawns widely and uncurls himself from his stone thrown.

More adventurers. There seem to be more adventurers than orcs in his, supposedly infested, kingdom.

He’d received report after report of orc gatherings from his Black-cloaks but, even after all his efforts, only a few hundred had been caught and executed.

Where are the others hiding?

More importantly, how are they hiding so effectively?

Many adventurers had come with the hope to refill their moneybags. Most were opportunistic idiots but the last three mercenaries seem confident. The Tiefling and the Halfling were almost impertinent in his presence.

The Gnomish woman, not so much but perhaps that was just due to her encounter with the Kobolds.

Still, he’d pay them fairly if they manage to return with proof of their triumphs. It’s not as if he’s short of money.

Perhaps they’ll even find one of the orcish ringleaders?

It had been months since he’d first heard of the orc gatherings but he’d resisted calling his mother for help.

Khajag was his town. Just a mining town now but soon to be a city and centre of his kingdom. It would be unseemly for him to request his mother’s aid so early in his rule.

He’d deal with this small matter himself.

Narcissus drags a razor-sharp claw down the parchment in front of him…

10gp per orc dispatched. Generous but so what?

5,000gp for the thorns: Morten, Aurelius, Angur, Harang, Knut, Ragnar, Stig and Viggo.

All of them known to have killed Black-cloaks.

But more important still, a 10,000gp reward for Bodan the barbarian and Auzoux the conqueror.

These two muscle-bound idiots have actually managed to inspire their feebleminded brethren with the tales of their heroic battles and their thirst for Dragon-born blood.

This cannot be allowed.