Stepping out of the barrier was like taking a deep breath for the first time in hours. A weight Urk hadn’t been aware of rolled off his body as he felt joints cracking into place, and he stretched. He fell onto all fours with a smile and locked his eyes on the distant mountain. With a leap, he began to run, and slowly, his gait increased until he was soon galloping along at the speed of a horse.

While slower than a dragon, Urk was still much faster than a human. Only soldiers could keep up with the speed of a Munst. He wasn’t even the fastest in the clan. Not even the trees blocked his path as he covered the distance within half a day. The forest was loud and cluttered with noise.

That was the first sign something was off. Not a single sign of a recent patrol could be found. The forest reacted slowly to his presence, as if having forgotten what a Kobold was. No guards were visible at the foot of the mountain either. Urk picked up the pace as his expression turned to one of concern.

“” Sliding to a stop at the entrance, Urk immediately froze in horror. Sounds and scents, they were all old. Days had definitely passed. A nervous step was taken inside as he moved past the passages and toward the one he called home.

A foul smell echoed from a pot filled with black mould. Skins, half-dried, rested on a table and were no longer usable. There was a spoon on the ground, left to gather mould around the spilled liquid. Beds were made up neatly and ready for the night. The signs indicated that it had not been a beast. Something had taken them all in a single instant.

In shock, Urk wandered toward the main room. The home of Mylord was empty, devoid of all the coins that had once nestled there. His gaze went around the carvings of Kobolds and a black dragon, slowly falling to his knees as he realised he was screaming. The sound was so loud his ears had failed to notice at first.

Claws dug into the ground as he curled up into a ball, and loud mewls echoed out as he instinctively called out for parents no longer there, body shivering and shaking as it registered the cold stare of the stone around him. No sound greeted him, nor did the mountain move to provide comfort—nothing but the screaming wind, which blew through only to mock him.

Kobolds were social creatures, made to live in packs and groups. While a lone Kobold could survive on their own, they lacked the strength to take down anything without the help of others. A clan was everything to a Kobold. To die with the clan was seen as an honour. To die without…

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“

“” Mixed in with the anguished cries was the blame thrown at the first easy target. Deep down, Urk knew he was being unfair. Taking out his anger on those who hadn’t done anything.

But sometimes, you just need to blame someone.

“” Claws slid down the wall as he gripped it and let out a quiet sob. All the anger had vanished with the wind and left behind nothing but a hollow, empty void within Urk. Moving to rise, he returned to his home and curled up in his bed, taking in the familiar scents, desperately seeking to hold onto the last vestiges of his home.

Time passed, and the scents continued to fade away. But no matter how long he waited, Mylord never came. And days later, when he could no longer smell his family, he rose, taking some keepsakes and the blanket. Eyes moved to follow his feet as he walked to the exit, and the bright day mocked him with a shining smile.

Moving to follow the path he’d once used when hunting, Urk brought his feet down one after another as he began to head back toward the human settlement. The day passed and turned to night, but he kept walking, passing into the barrier by the morning. Nowhere to go, he went toward the station. Jones greeted him almost immediately, looking rather angry.

“Where the hell have you been!? You said you’d be a day or two at....” Trailing off, Jones looked into the sunken eyes of the Kobold and ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry,” was the soft reply that came as Urk lowered his gaze. Moving over, Jones brought him into a brief hug and moved toward the exit.

“You look like you could use a drink, a rest, and some ice cream. Come on.” Clocking out, Jones knew he’d get reprimanded for this. Still, with the state of his partner, it was an easy decision to make. Silence followed them as he made a brief stop at a convenience store, and brought Urk up to his apartment. It was nothing to sneeze at, being a top floor home with a stunning view of the city. The lights swam below them even during the day.

“Dim the lights,” he ordered the AI as the screens lowered over the windows. Bringing the Kobold over to the couch, Jones sat him down and prepared a movie and some ice cream, sitting down and handing him the treat. Taking a bite, some light returned to Urk’s gaze, and he looked down at it.

“It’s...good.” Those two words were all Jones needed. Words meant he would be ok with time, so that was what Jones would give him. He sat down and played the video, looking up as he wrapped a blanket around Urk. Urk looked blankly ahead, and the two spent the day watching television.

After two hours Urk spoke again, “My family is gone.”