Kipsic woke before the rest of the horde. It was deep dark out and the pile of his clan were deep asleep. He stretched his arms wide and arched his back. He was often the first to wake, as he loved the great chance it gave him to cook for his kin.

  He clambered down the hill of kobolds and slunk to the food wagons that they had brought with them. Dried meats, salted meats, peppered meats, and chopped up meats. All the kinds of food Kobolds loved. But Kipsic thought he could make the flavors better.

  He pulled back a tarp on another cart, which held a couple of wine casks. He was not particularly strong enough to push the barrels off the cart, but he was able to pop open the lids of a couple of the upstanding casks quite easily. He then threw the tarp on the meat cart back and started tossing the rough food into the casks to soak. Plip, plip, plip.

  While the meats soaked, Kipsic scrambled together some logs and tinder for a couple of fires. He then took some metal pans and set them above the logs using some iron rods. After that, he started the beautiful flames. The warm fire broke the chill of the night and offered some companionship as he worked.

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  He then grabbed a long spoon from the food cart and scooped out the soaking meat to toss over the fires. They sizzled as they slapped upon the metal, red wine bubbling, white smoke wafting into the night. The smell was rich. Kipsic sucked in a deep sniff of it. Then he opened up some pouches along his belt and sprinkled green herbs across the meats, adding an earthy scent to the mix. He turned the savory food over by way of a pair of tongs. When they were done, he’d toss them into some wooden crates to rest.

  Some of the kobolds on the pile stirred, sniffing and licking their chops.

  One by one, the horde rolled off the pile and slumped toward the sizzling meats, rubbing their eyes and grooming their tails. One by one, Kipsic passed them a serving of his work, and they devoured their food graciously.

  By the time the sun peaked through the trees, each kobold had snacked upon Kipsic’s cooking, and each gave their thanks.

  But it was King Nak-Kan’s response that gave him the most pleasure. After the king had devoured the juicy cutlets that Kipsic had brought him, he held out a single coin and said, “You may hold-hold this!” Then flicked the gold circle into Kipsic’s paws.

  Kipsic gave a large smile and nodded to Nak-Kan. “Yes-yes!” For the whole rest of the journey, he would get to hold a coin from the King’s hoard, and wouldn’t have to give it back until the next day! A smile clung to his lips for the rest of the day.