The snores of the invisible monster faded behind them as they passed down a hallway and entered another room. Here, a long dry fountain sat at the center of the room while paintings of animals and monsters adorned the walls.
Lefty, tapping his staff, inspected the fountain. “So now that we’ve established we make a pretty great team, let me ask you, just what brought you down into this dungeon?”
Calista had been hoping this topic wouldn’t come up. The memory of the hooded figure who had fooled her into coming down here was still a little sore. “Eh, I guess it wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had.”
Lefty gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean it wasn’t the best idea you’ve ever had? If you hadn’t come down here, you’d have never met me!”
There’s a selling point if I’ve ever heard one. She forced a smile. “I guess, I’ll just say that some guy told me to come here and … well, we’ll see how it works out.”
“Some guy who?”
She let out a long sigh. “Look, it was a guy I’d never met before who met me at a tavern in Hilltop. He said this place was full of secrets and that there was something he needed me to find.”
Lefty smiled broadly, “Ooooh, secrets. I like secrets. What did he ask you to find?”
She tapped the pommel of her sword, “This. And then there was something about a ring.”
“So, who was the quest giver?” Lefty asked. “Some super high-level guy I’ve never heard about, I’m sure.”
Calista shook her head as she remembered the meeting with the mysterious man in Hilltop. “I don’t even know who the quest giver was, only that he wanted me to find the sword and bring it to him.”
“What?” Lefty was shocked. “How do you not know who your quest giver was? They’re all just A.I’s. You can look them up online.”
“This wasn’t a normal quest giver,” Calista answered. “He might not have even been an A.I. He certainly wasn’t anything I could look up online. I checked. There aren’t even supposed to be any high level quests available at Hilltop. So I really have no idea.”
“Weird.” Lefty let out a low whistle. “You high-levels sure do things differently. So, just how do you think we’re going to get out of here?”
Should I even tell him that? She looked him up and down. He was young, or at least his avatar was. I don’t know. He looks harmless. After she thought about it for a while, she couldn’t think of any reason not to. “I’m told there are five keys we need to find. So keep your eyes open for that.”
“Got it. Keys. I’m looking for keys.” Lefty then made a show of looking under the fountain and around the room.
“Yeah, how about we get going,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything interesting here.”
Lefty agreed and as they passed through the next doorway they found themselves confronted with a hallway with a door on the other side. It was a simple wooden thing with a knob and a keyhole and a sign nailed to it at chest height. ‘Barracks,’ it said. She checked for traps and found nothing. Then, just to be thorough, she pressed her ear to the door. Hearing nothing, she tried the handle.
They had entered a long, candlelit room with beds lining the walls to the left and right. Calista took a few cautious steps into the room, waited for the mage to slip in, and then silently closed the door. As her digital vision adjusted, she could see the forms of small bipedal beings lying in the beds. Goblins? Trolls? No, wait, these things have scales. Approaching silently on the balls of her feet, she leaned over the closest bed. There, sticking out from beneath the covers was the head of a tiny silver dragon.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Kobolds! Why are there Kobolds? I thought this was a troll-themed dungeon. Then she slapped herself. Of course, there are Kobolds. Someone is breeding with the dragons or using the dragons to make more monsters. However, as she thought about that, she realized one of the dragons she had seen had been an adolescent while the other, judging by its size, couldn’t have been much older than a young adult. Unless there is another older dragon here somewhere? Either that or someone is very, very sick.
She looked down again at the sleeping dragonkin. Kobolds were created using unfertilized dragon eggs. Each egg could create dozens - or if the magic was strong enough – even hundreds of kobolds. Normally, dragons created kobolds as minions to protect their lairs. However, when Calista looked to the foot of the bed, she found a breastplate adorned with the emblem of a blue troll.
She considered this. Dragons were not a playable race in Sable Unlimited, but trolls were. Could this supposed troll wizard have somehow forged an alliance with a dragon? If so, this Severin character would have to have some serious diplomacy chops as trolls were alignment restricted to the evil variants while dragon NPCs could be anything. And then what about the gold juvenile? That creature was odd.
“I think we should go back,” Lefty whispered.
“Why?” she asked.
He answered. “Because there are a lot of these little things sleeping in here and I’m really bad at sneaking. That’s why.”
“Just cast invisibility or something.”
“But what if I want to go back?”
Frustrated, she hissed at him, “Because I’ve been to most of the other rooms and my mini-map says this is the most likely way to the second floor. So suck it up.”
“Okay, but let me just say that sneaking through a guard room full of armed monsters probably isn’t the best idea.” She saw his shadow make a series of gestures. “There, I cast Invisibility Sphere. So as long as you stay within two meters of me, we should both be invisible.” He made another gesture that looked like an animal paw. “And I have Fox’s Grace which should help my dexterity and stealth. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do.”
It will have to be enough. With the wizard behind her, Calista weaved past a pile of dirty clothes and around an overturned chest. Then, as she stepped over a pile of armor, she heard one of the kobolds stir. She stopped and held her hand out behind her, but Lefty still blindly bumped into her and she heard the mage let out a nervous hiss. Then, two rows in front of them, one of the kobolds sat up and stretched his claws into the air. The kobold then stood and scratched himself as each of them slipped between the beds, leaving the middle aisle empty for the half-asleep kobold to saunter past. The little monster’s shadow then disappeared through a side door and a moment later they could hear the kobold begin draining his bladder into a privy.
Lefty’s whisper was sharp. “Go!”
Quickly, they re-entered the aisle, dodged an outstretched leg, stepped around a spear, and then finally they were at the end of the room. Here, seated on a small wooden chair and leaning against the door was yet another kobold. Calista watched the little monster’s head bob up and down as he wandered in and out of sleep. Behind her, Lefty unsheathed his dagger, but before he could step forward, she grabbed him by the wrist and shook her head.
“What?” He whispered. “This is a dungeon, not an orphanage.”
She glared. “If we leave a body, they’re going to come looking for whoever killed him, okay?”
The mage frowned as he put away his dagger. “Alright. Then what do you think we should do?
“Don’t worry. I have an idea.” Calista leaned down and whispered to the sleeping kobold. “Hey. Wake up.”
The kobold shook his head and blinked hard.
She adjusted her voice to her best impression of a bored teenager. “Hey, it’s Robert. From the next room.”
“Who’s Robert?” The kobold squeaked*.
“I’m the guy who guards the bedroom down the hallway. The invisible guy. Remember?”
The kobold shook his head. “No, I don’t. Where are you?”
“Like I said, I’m invisible.”
“What’s invisible, I thought you said your name was Robot.”
“It’s Robert and invisible means you can’t see me.”
The kobold thought about this. “Is that magic?”
“So I’m told,” Calista said dryly. “Say, I need you to do a favor for me.”
The kobold got a suspicious look. “What?”
“I’m a bit peckish. I need you to go to the kitchen and get me a sandwich.” She said.
“Yeah?” The kobold asked. “Well, what’s in it for me?”
Calista let out a long sigh. She had been expecting this. Kobolds were greedy little things. She reached into her purse. “Fine. I’ll pay you two coppers.”
The kobold huffed indignantly. “Make it five.”
“Four.”
“Deal.” The kobold squeaked.
She pulled out two more coppers and dropped them in the tiny claw. The kobold giggled as he walked past the invisible party and when the far door shut behind him, Calista leaned down over the door and activated her [lockpick] skill.
*Kobold voices sound something like Muppets. This decision was made by Krishanna, Mother of Dragons, who, after discovering the first kobolds, decided they should sound as cute as possible. This was less a benevolent decision than it was a tactical one as there are many adventurers who refuse to kill kobolds on account of their adorableness. For Krishanna, this made it all the funnier when her creations stabbed said adventurers in the gullet later on.