The moment that Rai and Isa started casting defensive spells, Samuel and Obsidian attacked. The ranger lunged, stabbing and slashing, forcing Rai to twist out of the way. The right-handed stab passed in front of his chest, while the left-handed slash scraped along the forcefield barrier with a screeching sound. He immediately countered with a thrust, but Samuel jerked to the side and his lightblade only tore through the outer layer of the mercenary’s leather armor. The two both took a step back to rebalance themselves, studying each other for an opening.

At the same time, half a dozen feet away, Obsidian brought down his axe in a powerful overhead swing. The blade carved through Isa from shoulder to hip and sent her flying back in an explosion of blood. She hit the ground, bounced, and rolled, her blood covering her body in a layer of armor that had hardened by the time she pulled herself back to her feet using her halberd.

“Enhance Scales,” she spat, literally spitting blood onto the ground.

“Oh? You’re tougher than I thought. Guess you did kill that spider after all. But you’re barely standing! Take this!”

Obsidian charged, bringing down his axe again. This time, however, the blade stopped cold, cracking through her blood armor but failing to penetrate her reinforced scales. His eyes widened in surprise and he pulled back his axe for another try.

“Armor-Piercer!”

Isa’s halberd punched through the dwarf’s breastplate and into his chest, the blood coating its blades burning his insides. With a cry, the dwarf pulled back, alarmed. He watched her warily, and because of that easily deflected her blow when she followed him and swung, calling out, “Wrath Strike!”

“You’re weaker than I expected… was the spider venomous?” he taunted, relaxing. He noticed the fresh blood oozing out from where her blood armor had cracked. “And I know you’re still bleeding from my attack.” He turned, blocking a blow with the intact part of his breastplate before swinging horizontally. She ducked under the attack.

“Armor-Piercer!”

His breastplate shattered when it took another hit from her thrusting halberd. He staggered back, coughing blood into his beard.

“Shit, shit, shit! Elf! I need healing!”

While Isa and Obsidian had been fighting, Rai and Samuel hadn’t just been staring each other down. When Obsidian chased down Isa, Samuel took the opportunity to attack. He thrust; Rai deftly parried the attack using a defensive counter art, the second tier “Silver Parry.” What made the art worth the qi expenditure was that it was more than simply a way to make his opponent miss, but due to the flick and twist of the blade, it briefly threw Samuel off balance, forcing the mercenary to abandon his assault to regain it.

Rai immediately followed up with an lightning-quick thrust that Samuel didn’t have a hope of reacting to, the first tier art “Swift Strike,” which used its speed to penetrate foe’s guards and leave them unable to evade. His blade went between Samuel’s ribs and out the mercenary’s back.

His mouth opening in surprise to expel blood, Samuel took a step back as Rai withdrew his sword, then slashed both swords in an X, which Rai managed to jump back from. Then he stepped forward and kicked Rai in the stomach, the boot cracking through the defensive forcefield and driving the air from Rai’s lungs, sending the scholar stumbling back. The mercenary pulled back toward Camellia while Rai recovered, and she quickly placed her hands on him.

“Heal the Wounds!” she cast. “Heal the Wounds!”

Samuel cracked his neck, grinning at Rai, as his internal and external injuries vanished, leaving only an angry red bruise on his front and back.

Then Obsidian’s voice called out for Camellia, and she scurried toward him.

Rai made a decision. He turned away from Samuel, took two quick steps toward Obsidian, stabbed toward the dwarf’s head in a flash. His blade fell short by a couple feet, but a white piercing shockwave shot forth from its tip and punched through Obsidian’s skull just before Camellia reached him. The dwarf’s corpse toppled.

Camellia screamed.

Some sixth sense warned Rai and he twisted, whirling to the side and spinning around, barely evading the lunging twin strike aimed at his back. He lashed out, flames erupting along his blade as it whipped across Samuel’s face, courtesy of the first tier art “Elemental Strike.” The man yelled as laceration met fire.

Isa licked up a marble of healing blood right as she was about to pass out. I think he’s got it, she thought, casting the spell again and lapping the second marble up as well.

Samuel retreated, dropping his swords and pulling out his bow. A moment later, an arrow sprouted from Rai’s gut, winds slashing through the flesh near the impact. Without hesitation, Rai slashed his sword diagonally through the air, and a matching slash appeared across Samuel’s torso, blood spraying from the wound, despite the nearly fifteen feet of distance between them. This, too, was the result of an art: the second tier “Dimensional Strike,” which could attack at a distance of two and a half dozen feet.

“How…?” was all the mercenary managed before he collapsed.

This is going to hurt, and I’d never do this if we didn’t have a healer, but… here goes nothing, Rai thought, wrapping his hand around the arrow in his stomach. “Rraah!” he screamed, ripping it out. Blood flowed freely from the open wound.

“Camellia,” he said through gritted teeth. “Heal me.”

Camellia looked around the room like a frightened mouse, then rushed to his side.

“Heal the Wounds. Heal the Wounds.”

Rai let out a long sigh as the pain vanished along with the injuries. He turned his head to Camellia, who flinched back. “Heal Isa as well,” he said calmly. “You assisted those traitors, but I’m no murderer – I won’t kill you in cold blood.”

“Y-yes!” she squeaked.

“Try anything weird and I’ll kill you,” Isa warned. Camellia nodded vigorously.

“Heal the Wounds. Heal the Wounds.”

“And my last spell of the day, other than zeros – Healing Blood.” Isa lapped up the bead of blood. “There, all fixed.” She looked up to see Rai standing over Samuel.

He plunged his sword into the mercenary’s heart. Pulling it out, he wiped the blade down on Samuel’s clothes before sticking it back in his belt. Closing his eyes, he took in deep, shuddering breaths.

Be calm, he told himself. This is no different from the time you killed those bandits, which was no different from killing monsters. They attacked with intent to kill. There’s no law force to turn them in to. This was completely justified. Steady your breaths… and be calm.

Isa watched him as his shakes gradually stilled. He must not be used to killing other people. That’s a point in his favor. I’ve killed a few traitors who tried to take over the tribe or kill me because I wouldn’t agree to be their mate, but even so, killing others of your own kind isn’t something you should get accustomed to.

Rai opened his eyes, walked back to the spot he had been standing before the combat began, and kowtowed before the chief and elders.

“Please forgive my foolishness in bringing those villains into your home. I offer to you all of their possessions as recompense.”

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The chief frowned at him.

“For what it’s worth, chief, I think he’s trustworthy, if not particularly good at seeing through liars and deceivers,” Isa offered. Then she glared at Camellia. “This one, on the other hand, is just a coward who does whatever those who scare her most say.” Camellia flinched.

Isa looked over at Brak. “The beast master… I have no idea.”

“I wasn’t hired to fight,” Brak said simply. “I was hired to serve as a guide through the wilderness. Since no one paid me to fight, I did not fight.”

“Hm…” the chief hummed thoughtfully. Then he looked down the row of elders to the left and right. “Let us put it to a vote: accept the human’s apology and proceed with negotiations, take the offered possessions and banish him, or execute him for bringing such danger into our home. Raise your right hand for the first, your left for the second, and neither for the third.”

Five of the elders raised their right hands. Five raised their left. Two did not raise their hands at all.

“A tie. Then, as is custom, I will be the tiebreaker. Trusting in Isa’s words, we shall accept the apology and continue with negotiations. But first, we must dispose of the bodies.” He snapped his clawed fingers, and kobold warriors jumped down and approached, picking up and carrying the corpses out of the room.

“Isa Bloodscale. Use your blood sorcery to clean up the mess.”

“At once, chief. Tricks.” The blood and brains of the dwarf vanished. She then walked over to where the ranger had fallen. “Tricks.”

“Raise your head, Rai Flamme. What do you have to offer us?”

Rai sat up on his knees. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a small drawstring pouch and tossed it past the scale onto the floor in front of the chief. “Within that pouch you will find coins of silver and gold. I have heard that kobolds, like the great dragons from which they are descended, are fond of them.” He reached into his satchel again. “I have also heard that your kind love gemstones. I do not have any of those, but I do have something that can enhance your appreciation of them.”

The item he removed was a peculiar contraption, a rectangle of metal with curved glass set within. In truth, it was a form of magnifier, commonly used by lapidaries and artificers. He explained its purpose and offered it. The yellow skirt-wearing kobold took it from him and passed it on to the chief, picking up the coin pouch and handing it over as well.

“And finally… I present to you a magic item of my own creation. I call it the spicer.”

The cylindrical object resembled exactly a large spice shaker except for the dial on its side that listed various different spices, from salt and black pepper to red pepper and an assortment of herbs. The yellow kobold once again transferred it to the chief.

“The spicer allows you to impart the flavor of the chosen spice, designated by turning the dial to the pictured and named spice, into food by holding it above the food and shaking it. The longer you shake, the more intense the flavoring. As a magical tool, this is worth quite a lot, but if it will bring about a relationship between me and your tribe, I will gladly part with it.”

I’ve had that thing for a nearly a year now… it was one of the first magic items I made after I learned magical artificing, he thought. It cost me over twenty gold to make between research and materials, which isn’t cheap, but I NEED to seal this deal.

The chief opened the pouch first, checking its contents. Then he passed the spicer to one of the elders, whose eyes began to glow after she muttered something under her breath as she verified its magic. She nodded to the chief.

“Very well. Your offerings are acceptable,” the chief pronounced. “You may stay with us for as long as you remain in the area to perform your studies, and Isa will serve as your guide, as you requested. You may also meet with our knowledge-keepers as often as you like. However, this is for you and you alone, for you alone have proven your sincerity. The female and the short one and his beast may not remain here. They must camp outside.”

Rai glanced back at Brak, who nodded.

“I thank you,” Rai said respectfully.

“Isa, escort them outside.”

“Yes, chief.”

Once they were gone, one of the elders stood up, a pure white-scaled kobold who had a gnarled wooden cane that he leaned on. His entire body was painted on in unusual patterns with various different color paints.

“Follow me, human seeker of knowledge,” he said in an raspy voice. “I am Sesson, the knowledge-keeper of this tribe. I shall take you to the sacred paintings, and we shall have our discussion there.”

Rai followed Sesson through the tunnels until they reached another wide chamber, though not one as large as the meeting hall. Painting murals decorated the stone walls of the chamber all the way around, and Rai showed immediate interest in them.

They seem to be depicting a history, he thought. The history of the kobold tribe, maybe? Kobolds feature heavily, but… there’s an actual city depicted, complete with houses and other large buildings and…

“Is that a Magic Tower?!” he exclaimed. The painted tower looked extremely similar to the most credible depictions of the towers from the Tower Era – that is, the ones that were supposedly based on fact rather than being purely fanciful. However, what made him think that it was a Magic Tower was the presence of ancient runes on it, runes that matched up to what he had come across in his studies. There were three, translating to “Ruler,” “Dragon,” and “Blood.”

“Magic Tower?” asked the young green-scaled (but also painted on) kobold who was present in the room. “Also, who are you?”

“Ah, Torval, this is Rai, a human knowledge-seeker. He is here to learn from us, and to seek out the ruins of the ancients.” Sesson nodded to the young kobold. “Rai, this is Torval, my apprentice.”

“I see! I’ve never met a human before!” Torval came over to stand beside Rai, looking up at him. “Humans are so tall!”

“I’m also on the taller side for a human, though there are humans taller than me,” Rai said with a smile. “But yes, humans are a great deal taller than kobolds. You know, today is my first time meeting kobolds as well.” He turned back to the mural. “That tower… it looks like a Magic Tower from the Tower Era, the age of the ancients that I’m studying. The Magic Towers were the seats of power of the Mage-Kings who ruled the world back then, when magic was plentiful and magical technology was much more advanced than it is today. See those runes?” He pointed out the characters. “They mean Ruler, Dragon, and Blood. Dragon-blooded ruler? Ruler of the dragon-blooded? Ruler of the blood dragons? Blood of the dragon ruler? I don’t know how the runes combine to form their ultimate meaning, but those are genuine runes from the Tower Era!”

“Really?!” Torval said excitedly. “So that means that we kobolds can trace our roots all the way back to this age of the ancients! In fact, couldn’t that mean that one of these Mage-Kings was a kobold?!”

Rai’s eyes widened. “What if Dragon Blood doesn’t mean dragon… it means dragonkin, like kobolds and saurians? By the gods! This means that kobolds, saurians, and other dragonkin were among the Mage-Kings! They weren’t considered monsters, but rather stood on the same playing field with humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, beastfolk! This is huge!”

He sat down and pulled out his journal and a pen. “Master Sesson, Torval, please teach me everything about these murals!”

Sesson let out a hissing laugh. “That would take much more than just tonight. But we can at least get started.”

Rai looked at the knowledge-keeper attentively, pen at the ready.

“Torval, why don’t you begin?” Sesson said.

“Me? Okay! Well, first we start with the city, the one with the Magic Tower. In a time before time, more generations ago than can be counted, our ancestors, newly descended from dragons, lived in great cities both above and below ground. We were numerous and mighty, rulers of the land. Then came the Great Disaster.” Torval pointed to the scenes of kobolds fighting monsters and other kobolds. “Wars raged for countless years, and eventually the cities fell into ruin. But kobolds are a resilient people, and we moved entirely underground in order to survive.”

Torval spent a couple hours describing what various parts of the mural represented. While Rai was sure that some of it was wrong, if even a little bit was accurate, this was a great finding. Of course, kobolds had shorter lifespans than humans, so it was possible – probable – that the distortion due to time was even more severe than it was for human understanding of the time period, especially since humans had contact with elves and dwarves, who lived longer than humans, while these kobolds were isolated.

“How long has your tribe lived here?” he asked.

“In this warren, or in these lands?” Sesson said.

“In this warren.”

Sesson pointed to a spot on the wall not covered by the mural, where a number of patterns were painted. “Each symbol represents a different knowledge-keeper who has kept the knowledge for this tribe since we moved into this place. The average duration of a knowledge-keeper’s service is between twenty-five and thirty years, with an overlap of five years with their apprentice.”

Rai examined the wall. There were about sixty symbols.

“That’s around thirteen hundred years… That’s a really long time.”

But still nowhere near long enough to reach back to the Tower Era, Rai thought. The Tower Era was at LEAST seven thousand years ago.

“This warren used to be one of many. Sometimes we were at odds with other tribes, sometimes united. But now… I know of only two other tribes in the area, and we have not had contact with them in generations… the last time we had contact was nearly twenty years ago, so I don’t know if they even still exist.”

“And how long have the kobolds lived in these lands?”

“Forever, though I don’t think our tribe specifically was considered the Blackfang tribe before we created this warren.”

“So… tell me more about the Blackfang Tribe, and about kobolds in general. I know only a little about kobolds, but I’ve never known anything about kobold culture. You have a chief, elders, a knowledge-keeper, warriors… I’d love to know more!”

“And I’d love to teach you!” Torval said. “In exchange, perhaps you can teach me about human culture!”

“It’s a deal!”

Rai didn’t get to sleep until many hours later, just before dawn.