Chance walked across to where the three kobolds waited, alongside Yrip. He gripped his staff tightly, uncertain as to the response that he would receive. The kobolds didn’t look hostile, but there were a great many of them, large numbers of them lurking and observing. It would take just one misstep for those numbers to become a swarm. He hoped that Yrip could keep the situation calm, especially with the imposing figures of Shags and Snarl likely to be the cause of some anxiety and fear.
He stopped in front of the kobolds and gave them what he hoped was a friendly nod in greeting. “Hello.”
The kobolds shifted uneasily, still evidently uneasy about the whole situation. They all looked similar to Yrip, with the same kind of bronze and green scales, though the patterns formed by them were each slightly different, the shades of colour not quite the same so that each stood apart.
“This is Chance, who I told you about,” Yrip said by way of introduction. “And these,” he added, gesturing towards the wolf and the gnoll, “Are Shaggy Death and Snarlfang, but you can call them Shags and Snarl.” Shags snorted and gave a shake of his head. Chance could feel his exasperation with the kobold for the use of that name. Snarl simply grinned at the trio, which Chance felt might not help ease the tension. “These are Yarl,” Yrip went on, gesturing to the tallest of the three kobolds, “Anyar,” and that was towards an older-looking kobold, his scales starting to fade and with what appeared to be a wispy beard on his chin, “And Anyar.” The last of the three was an almost stocky kobold. Unlike the other two, he carried a heavy knife thrust through his belt that would function more like a short sword for him. He seemed more at ease than the other two, less concerned by what was going on and his eyes were narrowed, watching closely.
The older one, Anyar, spoke. “Yrip has told us many things,” he said. “Things that seem almost fanciful, things that do not seem likely.”
“I am sure that Yrip has spoken the truth in all matters,” Chance responded. “He has been a good friend to me in the time that I have known him and has always spoken the truth.”
Yavyar seemed to almost hiss at that. “Iyari and kirika are not friends.”
“And yet we are,” Chance responded calmly.
Yavyar ignored the answer but pressed on. “And a shaggy death as well? No Iyari would spend time with one that would hunt him.”
“We are as you see us,” Chance said.
Yavyar scowled. “He says that you are not his master, either,” Anyar interrupted. “He says that he has no master,” he added, rather tentatively. “Such a thing is not possible.”
“It is sacrilege to even suggest,” Yavyar muttered darkly.
Anyar held up a hand to quieten the belligerent kobold. “Perhaps, but we should at least listen to them, to see what they have to say. It is only polite. After all, we should not offend deaths, especially when one is a shaggy death.”
“He went away an impetuous youth,” Yarl stated, speaking for the first time, “And has come back still one, but with strange ideas as well. That is not bad for a few days.”
“You were servants to the dragon, weren’t you?” Chance asked of the kobolds.
There were nods in response. “Yes. The Great Master bid us come to attend him,” Anyar stated.
“Though little has he had need of us yet,” Yarl added.
“He will not be able to any more,” Chance told them. “I am afraid to say that he has been killed.”
Yavyar hissed at Chance, eyes narrowed. “More sacrilege. We should be done with these kethrek, rather than listening to their lies.”
Once more Anyar held up a scaly hand. “Peace, Yavyar. We have agreed to listen. It is a hard thing to hear, though, or to believe. You are responsible?”
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Chance shook his head. “No, it happened before I arrived here.” He pointed towards Snarl. “He saw the dragon fall. We can take you to see its bones if you do not believe us.”
The news appeared to greatly disturb the kobolds as they shifted about uneasily, wringing their hands together, their eyes flickering backwards and forwards between each other.
“The dragons were never our true masters,” Yrip spoke up fiercely. “They deceived us and forced us into servitude through blood and magic. They have robbed us of our true destiny.”
“And how do you know this, young Yrip?” Anyar asked.
“We met a troll, and he told us,” Yrip answered, looking straight at the older kobold.
“It is true that they know much,” Anyar replied, still looking uneasy, “But all? And if they knew of this, why didn’t they say anything of it before?”
“You doubt the word of a troll?”
“No,” Yavyar growled, “But their intent? Yes.”
“I know that it is not an easy thing to accept,” Chance said, trying to keep calm, and with it the situation. “Yrip has told me that the Iyari feel driven to seek out a master, that you believe that you must have a master, to protect you. But from my time with Yrip, I can see that you really don’t. You can be your own people, ruled over by none. Tell me, if you lose a master, such as a dragon falling, what do you do?”
“We seek out a new one,” Anyar responded. “Iyari need a master.”
Chance heard Yrip make an exasperated sound as he pressed on. “And in that time between one master and the next, what happens?”
“I do not follow,” the elderly kobold replied, looking puzzled.
”You are without masters during that time. You are free, to make your own way, to make your own choices, for a time.”
“That is so, but it is a dangerous time for Iyari,” Anyar said. “Too much can go wrong.”
“Welcome to life, mate. But what if you had a safe place to live?”
“There is a myth, a legend of such a place,” Yavyar interrupted. “The thilyariat. But it is just a myth, a story to tell hatchlings. No such place exists.”
“But if it did…” Anyar mused.
“I am the Guardian of this place, Azval Stalvaq and the surroundings,” Chance told them. In theory, at least, he told himself. “You are welcome to live here, alongside my friends and me.”
“You would be our master?” Yarl asked.
“No,” Yrip responded, with a firm shake of his head. “We have no masters. We need no masters.”
“I would not be,” Chance replied, giving Yrip a half-smile, “But I would do all that I could to see that you were safe. Beyond that, you would be free people.”
The kobolds looked one to the other, Yavyar scowling deeply, the other two thoughtful. “We will have to discuss it,” Anyar said. “You have given us much to think of and to talk over.”
Chance nodded. “We will leave you to it then.” He moved away, back towards where the path left the forest, away from the camp, and the kobolds. Yrip came over as well, alongside Shags and Snarl.
“You do not wish to stay with them?” Chance asked Yrip.
The little kobold shook his head. “They are the ones that lead the tribe. I am not part of that. I have said all that I can, but the choice is theirs."
They waited, watching as the three kobolds debate, even more animated than before. From time to time one of the other kobolds from the camp came over to join the three before departing again. Chance couldn’t hear what they were saying but it was fairly obvious from the manner in which they spoke and stood and gestured that Yavyar was opposed to the idea.
“Who is Yavyar?” Chance asked of Yrip.
“My older brother,” Yrip replied. “Well, one of them,” he added. “He is new to his position and leadership in the tribe. He is the one who oversees the safety of the camp, the establishment of the traps and snares. He is as close to a warrior as any Iyari gets and takes his position seriously.”
The thought of Yrip having a family had never crossed Chance’s mind; obviously, he did, but he had never considered it. “You have a large family then.”
“All the tribe are my family,” Yrip told him. “Brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins.”
“And you were willing to give them all up?”
The little kobold chuckled. “That was not my plan, no. I went seeking power, so I could aid them. Instead, I have found something else.”
The debate among the kobolds came to an end and the three kobolds approached. Yavyar still did not look at all happy.
“We have decided,” Anyar announced. “If you can guarantee our safety, we shall take you up on your offer, for a time at least. If it does not work out we will reconsider.”
“That is reasonable,” Chance told them. “I will not be your master, but I will do all in my power to keep you safe.”
“That is enough for us. We accept.”