How come each time they show up, humans seem to naturally bring drama?

When they went to investigate it, the group transformed into their "human" forms first, mostly out of curiosity, and to hep if the situation were bad.

Richard was human after all, and it'd be heartless of him to ignore a cry for help.

The situation was not quite what the dragon thought it'd be.

It was a human male, yes, and clearly one in dire straits, if you went by his expression.

Yet the other, the "attacker" if you will, was not quite what he had expected.

For one thing, they didn't even look aggressive really.

The "aggressor" was a bird-like creature.

Bird-like, because there were features that made it less bird-like, and more dragon esque.

A bipedal being with feathers and wings, yet it had clawed hands on the ends of these wings, and a snout less than a beak peaked out of its face.

It's tail, while ending in plumage, was clearly that of a reptiles.

Like a dragon tarred in feathers. Pitch black ones ones.

Were a man from another world to see it, they may even liken the creature to a dinosaur, close to a raptor or an archeopteryx.

Using appraisal, Richard quickly discovered the truth of the being.

[Korvold]

[A new species of kobold, these feathered folks are pioneers, seeking to explore where no kobold has gone before. They are natural traders and messengers, rarely violent towards sapient species, who are potential customers, and maintain good relations with all kobolds.]

There were stats as well, but they were not the focus for Richard.

Rather, this description... implied this was all a misunderstanding.

"Get away!Get away from me!" he panicked as the man ran towards us.

"Please adventurers, protect me! This beast just showed up out of nowhere and started attacking me!"

The "korvold" cocked its head much like a bird does, before speaking. "What are you on about?!" It said quizzically.

"I was coming over to make an offer to you, and you just ran! How rude, rude I say!" It said, looking particularly offended.

THe man faltered. "Really?" He asked, clearly unsure.

He wasn't put off by sister Alexandria's lamia form nor the tail on Achil, so that's good.

"Yes! If only you stood still so we could barter! Do you how long I had to chase you! I was waving my hands to tell you to stop." He complained.

Panda snorted. "Hey dumbass! Humans don't respond well to monsters chasing them and waving their hands. Baka."

The korvolds head cocked to the other side. "Really?"

"Yes really!"

"Fascinating, fascinating. Well then, that is my fault and I apologize for my behavior." The korvold said as it placed its wing upon its breast and bowed.He was quick to course correct, befitting a merchant.

Sister Alexandria murmured thoughtfully. "I've never seen your kind before..." causing the critters head to turn to her.

Its eyes widened as it bowed with greater respect.

Richard figured it out immediately.

Kobold. Creatures subservent to dragon kind, and sister Alexandria, as a wyrm, likely classified as a dragon species.

Did it recognize us?

Did kobolds have respect for wyrms?

[yes]

Fascinating. Still, that's troublesome. That implies any creature with dragon blood could see through her disguise, and ones with less tact like the one in front of us could easily expose us by accident. Or perhaps her status as lamia commanded respect.

Something to worry about later.

The korvold responded formally. "We are korvolds, a new species in this world. And I am but a mere merchant, seeking to hawk my wares in this world." He said, with great passion in his voice. Sister Alexandria's eyes flickered over to Richard before eyeing the unique critter before her.

"oh, wares? May I inquire what wares you have to offer?" Richard asked as the korvold turned to him with the same great respect.

"Of course! We offer a great variety of potions, information, materials ..." As he spoke, five more korvolds flew out, each with their own pack and satchel, bulging with materials.

Each of them with their own unique pack. One had potions to the brim, another with tanned skins. One of them had even dressed in a weird blue costume, and an even weirder satchel to the side filled with letters. A mailman perhaps.

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

"You have customers? Who's sending mail through a giant bird!?" Panda questioned with genuine astonishment.

Monsters had a precarious place in the empire to say the least.

The korvold laughed. "Not many people, but a lot more monsters than you'd think are willing to pay for good service.And it isn't too hard to sneak into human towns" he said, showing a toothy grin.

Sister Alexandria chuckled. "The old three kobolds in a trenchcoat?"

Their leader, or at least Richard assumed so, nodded. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We've also found a lot of customers amongst merchants who know where the money is."

The korvolds were quick to list out the ingredients they had at their disposal. There was a wide variety, but a lack of quantity.

According to them, it was a trade-off, to ensure that they could still fly reasonably without being hindered by transport. So they chose to deal in exotic items.

Richard saw a few interesting things, but seeing the price for such exotic things turned him off , but it didn't stop him from buying a thing or two.

And he still wanted to ask them for directions, so buying some stuff was a good way to garner goodwill.

"Actually, we want to know where the nearest town is." The young dragon asked, and the korvold looked at him curiously. "Well if you really want to know it's-"

The critter froze for a moment, as a weird presence entered him, and sister Alexandria's eyes narrowed.

And RIchard held his presence. The presence wasn't as strong as when he'd encountered gods, but the presence wasn't far off. It was a dominating presence, one that overwhelmed the senses even when not focused upon oneself.

-York outpost. It is the york outpost. The korvold answered mysteriously, as a mysterious light lit its eyes. SIster Alexandria stepped forth first, and knocked out the human at the same time, ensuring he did not hear something he was not meant to hear.

Her presence was domineering as she demanded answers. "Why does the progenitor of korvolds seek to intervene?" She boomed, and the korvold responded.

Tis' not me who wishes to intervene. I don't even know what's special about you, but master wishes to see you.

"Master?"

He says the title, player 0 should mean something to you.

Hearing this, Richard interrupted.

"Then Player 0 is the creator of the korvolds?" He asked, and the possessed korvold looked at him with curiosity and a little haughtiness.

I'm not sure why master wants to see you, but he does. He says come to the adventurers guild in the york outpost to talk.

"And if we should desire otherwise?" Sister Alexandria said with great suspicion.

The bird shrugged. He'll come to find you instead. Besides,

She turned to look at Richard, as the stare pierced his soul.

Don't you want to know why you were cursed?

"W-w-what?" Richard stuttered, taken aback by the abrupt statement.

The master says that he knows why you've been cursed, and why Isis could do nothing. He says he has quite the story for you. She paused. He says you can ignore him and bypass him, but if you do, you might just regret it. Fate waits for no one, least of all you.

Your friend Lyssandra is in danger. I wonder if you'll get there in time. If you want to know more, you know where to find him.

And with that, the mysterious presence was gone as the korvold returned to normal.

"Hmm? Where was I? Oh yes, the nearest concentration of people, their nest, seams to be york outpost. " He droned on, seemingly unaware, or indifferent to what just happened. Even the other korvolds did not seem to care.

Sister Alexandria had a sour face, but she did not seem particularly upset at them. No she clearly knew who she was upset at.

A progenitor had descended to ask such a request made her uneasy. How rare was it that progenitors did such things, much less progenitors of new species, whose power has yet to consolidate? A progenitor's seat of power relies on its population, so news species with low numbers means low power.

A new progenitor should not only not have this level of power yet, it should not be willing to take such a dangerous action.

Player 0, she recalled the last time she had heard such a claim, when that mysterious device had apparated.

This player 0... had an unusual interest in Richard. A dangerous amount.

It worried her. Someone who could influence such a new progenitor, nay even control them is a dangerous individual. Him being tied to this system did not reassure her,because she did not believe that being tied to this system meant that player 0 was friendly, and she wasn't even sure how to deal with such an individual.

Turning to Richard to speak, she saw the determination in his eyes.

"This is dangerous thing man. I think we should like, turn the other way and run. " The squirrel sighed hopelessly "But I already see that look in your eyes. You want to go right?"

Richard nodded decisively. "I have to. Sister Lyssandra is in danger." His eyes glowed and the lightning grew stronger in his eyes. "Shes done so much for me. I can't abandon her." He looked over to sister Alexandria. "I'm sorry. I know that I'm dragging you into something troublesome but-"

"-But nothing." She said firmly, interrupting him. "I promised you that I'd follow and protect you. It's the job of elders to hold up the sky for our juniors, you know? Don't worry about it, at worse, we can always escape. I doubt this player 0 could really hold me if I wanted to leave."

Richard felt relieved hearing the reassurance from sister Alexandria. He disliked the fact that he was imposing upon her, and clearly dragging her into all of this.

Achil seemed completely indifferent to all of this. "Let's go then." He said simply. The squirrel rolled his eyes. "We're already out here anyway. No way getting out of this now. Come on then, let's go already!" he said, offering his reluctant support. Hearing this, Richard felt resolved, and made sure to apologize to the korvolds for leaving the unconscious man with them, before saying their goodbyes.

The korvolds were extremely polite.

----------------------------------------

The korvold mailman sighed. "What a shame. I was going to ask if we could follow them."

Another one of them, the materials transporter nodded. " I know! Three dragons! Most kobolds don't even get to see one in their lifetime. Do you know how much people would pay to hear about this?! I could brag about this to those scaly pricks." He was clearly more excited about the profit than the dragons clearly.

Another one angrily spat out the previous two. "Did you not just see that! Our GOD just descended upon us to commune with them! We should go offer some precious for our lord!"

The leader of them shook his head. "NO! She said to ignore this moment, and that it was merely her passing on a message for another."

The former shook his head. "Her master! Her master! I have never heard of one such person! Should we offer shinies to them as well?" He pondered seriously, clearly more devout than the others.

When the man started stirring however, the whole group shushed and quickly returned to their more professional behavior.

Good salesmen know when to leave feelings at the door, when shinies are at stake!

After they left for this outpost, the poor man woke up, wondering why he'd been knocked out He turned out to be a surprisingly open customer for the korvolds to bargain with in the end as they managed to wring out quite a few silvers and even a gold.

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Somewhere, in a little bar

A man dressed in a raven's costume chuckled, as if he were watching something amusing.

"The system has high hopes for you player 15. Let's see if you can live up to its expectations." He said nonchalantly, yet under the mask complicated emotions ran through him.

This son of Thorsten was a diamond in the rough.

It was time to see if he would come out shining, or crumble under the pressure.