I'm knee-deep in agricultural reports, trying to make sense of Morkath's yield projections for the swamp rice paddies, when the messenger arrives. The young hobgoblin is breathing hard, clearly having run the entire way from the southern observation post.

  "Monster Lord!" he gasps, attempting a salute while still trying to catch his breath. "Urgent... reports from... southern borders!"

  I set aside the parchments, grateful for the interruption. Who knew running a monster kingdom would involve so much paperwork?

  "Catch your breath," I tell him, pouring a cup of water from the pitcher on my desk. "Then report."

  After a few gulps and several deep breaths, the hobgoblin straightens. "Scout patrols observed large human force moving south along eastern border of our territory. Banners and armor markings identify them as from the eastern kingdom."

  "How many?" I ask.

  "Several hundred at minimum. Organized military formation, siege equipment, supply wagons. Full campaign deployment."

  "Headed south, you said? Not toward our borders?"

  The hobgoblin nods. "Deliberately avoiding our territory. Following eastern highlands toward southern mountains."

  Before I can process this information, another messenger arrives, this one a hagraven, her wings still settling as she lands on the platform outside my quarters.

  "Monster Lord," she greets with a formal bow. "Aerial reconnaissance reports activity among beast tribes southeast of our territory. Large warband forming, multiple tribal banners observed. Moving south toward mountain passes."

  I frown, trying to make sense of these convergent movements. "The beast tribes and the eastern kingdom's forces both heading south? That can't be coincidence."

  I've barely dismissed the messengers when Thrazz of the Azurite Conclave is escorted into my quarters, his skin patterns pulsing rapidly with urgency.

  "Monster Lord," he greets, dispensing with usual formalities. "Most disturbing news reaches the Conclave. The abandoned deepvault mines in the southern mountains—something has changed."

  "Changed how?" I ask, instantly alert. When underground dwellers get nervous, surface folk should pay attention.

  Thrazz's skin patterns shift in what I've learned indicates anxiety. "Rumors spread through the Underrealm. A beast tribe shaman—gifted with unusual stone-sense—supposedly breached the sealed chambers where the dwarves imprisoned a powerful fragment centuries ago."

  "Wait—a fragment?" I sit forward. "In the abandoned mines?"

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  "One of significant size and power," Thrazz confirms. "The dwarves deemed it too dangerous to move or destroy. They sealed it behind multiple barriers before abandoning the site entirely."

  "And now someone's gotten to it," I mutter, the pieces falling into place. "That's why everyone's suddenly rushing south."

  "Indeed," Thrazz continues. "But there is more. The Obsidian Enclave has also mobilized toward the mines."

  My eyebrows shoot up. The Obsidian Enclave is another Underrealm faction, rivals to Thrazz's Azurite Conclave. I've only heard about them in passing during negotiations with the Azurites, but I know enough to understand they're not to be taken lightly—a militaristic society with technology that rivals or exceeds their crystalline counterparts.

  "Your rivals are after the fragment too?" I ask.

  Thrazz's skin patterns pulse in what might be the equivalent of a grimace. "The Enclave has long desired to expand their influence. A fragment of this magnitude would shift the balance of power in the Underrealm significantly."

  I think of the crystal lens hanging at my chest, of Gorthal's fragment-enhanced axe. The power these smaller fragments contain is already remarkable. If this new fragment is truly larger, and the wrong faction obtains it...

  "If this beast tribe shaman has really breached the vault and retrieved the fragment, we need to intercept them before anyone else does," I decide. "Thrazz, how far are these mines?"

  "Three days' hard travel to the south. Through mountain passes in the final approach."

  The timing couldn't be worse. Nerk and Gorthal are still away on their recruitment missions, taking significant portions of our goblin and orc forces with them. Morkath can't leave the swamp for extended periods without his connection to the marshland consciousness weakening.

  "Morrigan," I call out, knowing she's likely nearby. "We need to assemble a force immediately. We're heading south."

  She materializes from the shadows with that silent grace that still sometimes startles me. "How many?"

  "As many as we can gather quickly. Elite units only, we need speed more than numbers. Select your best hagravens, I'll take our remaining hobgoblins and some of Gorthal's metallic orcs."

  "And Crystallis," Morrigan adds. "A crystal drake may prove invaluable when dealing with a potentially crystalline fragment."

  Within hours, our expedition is ready to depart. I've selected two hundred elite hobgoblins, their evolution accelerated by our fragment-enhanced bond network. Alongside them, a hundred metallic orcs whose evolved skin provides significant protection against both physical and magical attacks. Morrigan has assembled a dozen of her most powerful hagravens, each far beyond their original limitations.

  Crystallis waits impatiently on the assembled platform, her scales shifting through impossible colors as she senses the importance of our mission. Through our bond, I feel her eager anticipation, not just for potential combat, but for the crystalline fragment itself. Her draconic instincts recognize the power such an artifact represents.

  "Three days of hard travel," I remind my forces. "We need to intercept this shaman before the eastern kingdom, the Obsidian Enclave, or other beast tribes do. Our priority is fragment recovery, not extended combat."

  As our expedition sets out southward, I can't help wondering if I'm making a terrible mistake. I've got a significant portion of our remaining combat forces heading into unknown territory, pursuing a powerful artifact that three other factions are also hunting, without two of my five lieutenants.

  But the alternative, allowing someone else to secure this fragment, seems worse. Whether it's the militaristic Obsidian Enclave, the expansionist eastern kingdom, or even a powerful beast tribe shaman, such a potent artifact in the wrong hands could drastically shift the regional balance of power, and potentially threaten our growing domain.