"No faaaaair!" complained one of the pups as Chungotlus took up his cane and moved to depart back to his hut. "The story can't end there! It's in the middle of a battle!" The other pups yapped their agreement and nodded heads as the ancient Historian watched them crossly.
"I had thought," muttered the older kobold, "That I may leave Tadlotlindrirajer's story there. It is a history not well suited for pups." The pups whined and grumbled at him until finally he raised his paws. "Very well. If you wish it. Where had I left off..."Several of the Unseen Spirits had the last of the Rattlesnakes on the run passing through the forests with blades ready. Corai grunted out, "Nix! Run fast! Slow snake!" Nix nodded confidently and sped up, breaking from the group. His lips pulled back in a snarl and he leaped forward wrapping his arms around the beast's waist. The two fell in a jumble of limbs, but Nix was on his feet first stabbing downward with his spear. The rattlesnake man got both arms up to defend himself blocking the strikes as it pushed itself back to it's feet. Without a moment of hesitation, Nix jumped again, sinking his teeth into the snake's arm to weigh it down.
With the snake somewhat slowed, Cogdis was able to catch up with spear ready. "Jump off!" he shouted to Nix as he stabbed the snake in the lower body and legs. Nix kicked off and had his own spear ready in a matter of seconds, the two kobolds chasing and circling to slow the beast down for Corai. When Corai caught up he grunted out, "Good run" to his squadmates before adding his own stabbings. The beast's head flailed and struck towards them, but the kobolds were able to jump back and avoid the strikes. Then a blur of a bolt flew into their midsts, ripping through rattlesnake skin, flesh, and bone before continuing through to the other side. Across a small lake, Blue was settled with her bow. She stood in the brushes, raised it again, and shot another bolt through the rattlesnake's head.
Further to the south Cadbee continued her decimating of the flying squirrel girls. Her sword was already slick with their dark blood and she was breathing heavily, but the furry threat still hunted within the camp. She came upon one of the screeching beasts and held forward her blade. It slowed and stared at her before opening it's arms to show the enormous wings of flesh. Cadbee hesitated for only a moment, but then she heard a scream of terror beyond the beast. The little kobold kicked the squirrel in the stomach and then slashed across the stomach spilling out it's organs. As the squirrel flailed and screamed, she cut it's face into ribbons and knocked it's corpse aside.
Straw backed away from the squirrel with nothing in her hands but a treebranch. Her hands shook as she waved it in an attempt to be menacing, but the squirrel continued to stomp forward. The creature ripped the stick from her hands and swung a fist into Straw's stomach. Straw yelped in pain and buckled over, only to be kneed in the stomach again. She stumbled backward raising her hands to defend herself and was backhanded in the face, spitting blood and vomit as she curled up on the ground.
Cadbee rushed behind the squirrel and punched it in the back with a snarl. At the same time, Cogdis was running up to help with his spear in hand. Straw whined piteously, but didn't have any obviously deadly wounds so Cadbee and Cogdis used sword and spear to get the creature running. The two Spirits ran the beast down and ducked and weaved around the squirrel cutting into skin and flesh with rapid jabs. Cogdis moved just a bit too slowly and took a punch to the head, falling back for a moment. The squirrel lunged at Cogdos mouth wide, but Cadbee knocked several teeth out with a blow from her spear. Then it was a simple matter of finishing it off with several decisive stabs.
When the squirrels attacked, Nerev and Taz had been sitting eating in the dining hall. Shouts and screams from outside drew them out, but their weapons were in the training hall. One of the squirrels found them and roared forward. "Axe?" asked Nerev of Taz, but Taz shook his head before asking Nerev, "Spear?" Again, a negative response. The kobolds then turned to the squirrel and hunkered down to fight it with bare claws.
The squirrel looked between the two kobolds and suddenly lunged at Nerev. The beast struck quickly, punching Nerev several times as Nerev got his own strikes in. Finally Nerev grew tired of the hits and simply sunk his teeth into the squirrel. The beast roared with fury, shaking it's body to try to loosen Nerev, but then Taz was upon it, jabbing his claws into the monster's back. The two kobolds brought the beast to the ground and Nerev slammed his foot down upon the back of it's head.
With all but the last squirrel taken care of, the Unseen Spirits drew back to clean their wounds. Corai eyed the beast as it began to run and then motioned to Blue. "Blue. Corai and Blue kill." Blue nodded and hefted her bow over her shoulder with a toothy smile. The two Spirits charged after the squirrel and a couple of quick strikes to the legs took it down. Blue ignored any need for ammo and simply started beating the squirrel, bringing out squeals and sounds of fear and pain. Corai joined in with his own stabs to ensure the squirrel actually remained down for it's beating. "Tell-" grunted out Blue "Plasobler. Leave. Camp. Alone!" Finally, Corai raised his spear and stabbed through the beast's head in one smooth motion. He nodded to Blue and they hefted up the corpse dragging it back to be cut up.
While the Spirits were engaging in combat most dire, the kobolds back at the camp had been busy at work building, living, and working. A merchant train had come into the camp and all of the civilians worked to bring things properly into the trading center.
Chungotlus paused for a moment and furrowed his brow slightly. "I've more I can tell you about the civilians in the camp, but I will need to consult the Histories. One of the merchants carved quite a bit of information about the kobolds of Tadlotlindrirajer and I wouldn't want to get any of the information incorrectly. Suffice to say the kobolds traded for metal and other things they couldn't produce."
Suds entered the Hall after hearing complaints from several of the kobolds. What he found was a very strange sight, Hugo was setting out clothes and carved stone tools upon the tables. There were also several beds against the back wall which certainly hadn't been a planned part of the dining room. He moved quickly and definitely as though what he was doing wasn't at all out of the ordinary. "Hugo," barked Suds with a scowl on his face, "No beds! Eat here! No sleep!"
Hugo turned to Suds while holding up a wickedly sharp stone. "No sleep beds," he corrected as he drew closer to the camp leader. "Fix beds. Kobolds hurt, Hugo fix." He nodded seriously at this as he looked about the converted building and glared at several people coming in to eat. "Out! Out! This Heal Tent!" The other kobolds hurried out with their tails between their legs. Suds heaved a great sigh and shook his head, "No, Hugo. Valk build Heal Tent. Soon."
Of late, the camp had been a significantly noisier place. The 10 pups had recently begun to bark and yap in earnest with plenty of provocation from the dogs the merchants brought in. When Taz went to work training them, it only became worse as they helpfully barked out warnings anytime an intruder of any kind came anywhere near the camp at all. This, insisted Taz, was the marking of a good guard dog.
Then one day there came the promise that the noise would not be lowering anytime soon. Though Blue was a military 'bold through and through, but luckily her husband's own times tended to line up with hers. She and Nerev came back from a hunting mission one day with broad grins and each holding three pups. The women-bolds gathered round to assist in naming them. Soon it was decided. The eldest was a daughter who hicked and squirmed so she was named Driromer Shoveddrunken. Next was a son who had a twitch in his eye and called out in even tones to be named Solahis Tickchant. Timeehus Faintcruel third was a boy, scrawny and mean from the get-go. Strong Sreeshushus Bitepeeks came fourth and was quick to nip at hands. When the fifth was raised up, she covered her cheeks with her hands and her hackles rose, so she was named Chatadlin Blushbristles. Last came Dochisris Scoldfolds who scrunched up his forehead like he was passing judgment. "So many sons," mused Sen as she looked over the pups. "Sen pups sons someday."
Several days passed happily with the camp working hard to turn all of the monster-men into meat, leather, and weaponry. Simply dragging all of the pieces into the camp took quite a bit of time and the butcheries were in use day and night. The Spirits took time to relax and enjoy their days, sparring and training slightly, but confident that they could stop hunting for at least a little while.
The elder paused in his telling of the story and his brow furrowed deeply. He eyes the pups gathered around him and then said softly, "I want the older pups to bring any pups who have not seen six moons back to the camp. I will wait here." Amid protests, the older pups gathered up the younger ones and brought them back. The little pups complained and whined, but soon the gathering had been reformed. The night was a little darker and Chungotlus looked somehow older as he settled back down.
"Why did you ask the little ones to leave?" asked one of the older children.
"Because Gods willing they will never have cause to know of the horrors this world holds."There came that dread night in the Summer of 180 when the kobolds of Tadlotlindrirajer first learned the meaning of fear. Splinter was the first to see them approaching as she showed her pups the construction for Srojlachlus. Her trained hunter's eyes spotted strange shapes on the horizen and her brow furrowed. The kobold put a hand next to her muzzle and called out, "Who?" There was only silence. Then came a haunting, horrific sound of moaning. One of the shapes stumbled and grasped a tree as it fell. When it rose again, the fingers it had sunk into the wood remained in it and the arm ripped from it's side. "Dead walk," whispered Splinter in horror as she gathered up her pups and loped back to the camp as quickly as she could.
One of the older pups burst out into laughter with a wide grin on his face. "Ghost stories, Chungotlus? You sent the others to bed because of a ghost story?" Several of the other pups were also snickering at this point, but others sat in dead silence. Chungotlus frowned deeply and whispered, "If they were but ghost stories. The dead walking are more real than you can know, child. Pray to what gods you will that you never see them. Pray to the gods of old or the elven spirits. Pray to anything that will listen. Even then many did not believe. It is by Dleenuslis' charity that any survived that night."Splinter ran back into the camp shouting to the other kobolds, "Run! Dead walk! Dead walk!" Hugo approached her first though soon a small crowd had gathered. They watched as he checked her eyes and patted her cheeks. At this she growled at him and tried to push him back, "Splinter no head-sick! Dead walk! Look!"
The kobolds stood in the moonlight watching the rise for shapes, but Splinter had ran much faster than the horrors that waited below. Then they heard a scream and horrific sounds from the south.
One of the creatures had found it's way into the camp coming from another direction. It wandered randomly until it came upon a hut. Sharpened fingernails on gaunt hands pushed open the door and it turned in the darkness with eyes that could yet see despite the glaze of death. Sleeping in the corner was a shape on a bed. FeralTalon, who had faced a long day of training, was in bed asleep his soft snores preventing him from hearing the demon draw closer. It stood above him for a moment, drool and slather filling his mouth. Then it's claw fell.
FeralTalon shouted in pain as he suddenly awoke to a spray of blood from his arm and the sound of bones breaking. He looked up to see the vaguely human-looking shape swinging another hand down at him. FeralTalon rolled off his bed, yelping in pain as he landed with the broken paw beneath him. He struggled across the hut and grabbed his buckler raising it up to block the next strike against him. He ducked beneath a claw and slammed the beast with his buckler knocking it back for but a second, though when he ran for the door it was blocked by another beast. The spearbold stumbled back and tried to hold back the strikes from the rotten flesh. However, against the larger, faster foe he could not fight without taking hits, each strike breaking bone and ripping skin.
Soon the hut was awash with his blood. He staggered slightly and the spear fell from his hand as he hit the wall shaking it. FeralTalon's lips pulled back and he leaped sinking his teeth into the rotten flesh and ripping out a chunk of skin. He held on tightly to the beast, but it grabbed his thumb and ripped it from his paw. FeralTalon fell back again, swiping with his paws and snapping with jaws filled with blackened blood. A kick from the demon knocked him to his back and a thick cracking sound filled the air. His legs would no longer move and the form drew closer. It attempted to pick him up, but he bit again, ripping at the wrist. Despite being paralyzed, missing a thumb, and having more broken bones than whole ones he fought on. But this was all for naught. The corpse pulled back it's arm and shattered his head into the hardened soil of the floor.
By this time, the rest of the camp had withdrawn. The creatures were too large and the strength of the undead was known. Down in the food cave, the kobolds huddled in fear. Lovers and couples tried to find each other among the barrels and piles of food. The door had been barracaded shut but the haunting moans of the dead outside still filled the air. Suds beat his paw against the side of a barrel and barked out, "Kobolds! Line up! Need count!" The kobolds got into line and Suds counted them off carefully with his learned skills of hoard-counting being put to good use. When he finished his count he was two short.
"FeralTalon," murmed Niyazov in a soft voice. As the words left her mouth, MonkeyHead collapsed in tears clutching her pups to her. Blue quickly moved to her side and put an arm around her shoulders whispering to comfort her.
The silence stretched slightly and then Corai shook his head, "Cadbee." The others nodded with mournful looks on their faces, the Unseen Spirits most especially.
"Two Spirits," growled out Nerev with a snarl. "Srojlachlis give revenge." He started toward the door with his sword out before Corai stopped him.
"Spirits know danger," Corai reminded him and the other kobolds with a brave look on his face. "Spirits choose danger. FeralTalon, Cadbee strong. Good warrior. Maybe live. No mourn yet." Most of the other kobolds did not look convinced by this, but there was a face or two that was a little less dour for the lengthy speech.
Days passed and the kobolds sat and ate. Conversation was sparce as anytime they began to talk, the moans from outside only became louder. Then one day there came a miracle from Gasruchruin...
"Gasruchruin," reminded Chungotlus, "is the goddess of marriage. She guides kobolds to their mates and helps them create children." He then quickly continued along confident that he had helped do his religious duty for the day.Four kobolds woke up that day determined to push back the darkness and find join and light in life. Yes, they were buried under the ground. Yes, they were afraid. Yes, they could well have little time left. But they would spend that time they had with the 'bolds they loved.
Hugo and Suds approached each other with serious looks on their faces. Hugo gave a small bow to Suds gesturing for him to speak first. "Suds need Hugo help. Hugo almost Historian. Hugo marry Suds with Straw." Hugo then let out a chuckle and accepted, "Hugo help Suds. Then Suds help Hugo. Suds camp leader. Suds marry Hugo with Niyazov." The two began to laugh and the laughter caught on. Soon the entire camp was laughing. The horrific moans continued outside, but inside there was some joy. The two couples were wed with little ceremony, simply saying the vows and accepting the blessing of the leader.
The kobolds prayed frequently for FeralTalon and Cadbee wherever they might be. Luckily, there was stored food and drink. For now, they could survive. The biggest problem they faced was that below the ground without shovel or tool there was no chance to write the histories. If they did not escape, they would be forgotten and it would be as though they never lived. No carving was made that season.
This was a sad season for the camp. You may have noticed that there is a story that I haven't explained yet for Cadbee. For now, her whereabouts will remain a mystery.
Monday I will (hopefully) be posting a quick check in with ALL of the kobolds, one short paragraph each. It'll be a bit lengthy, but with few to no pictures.
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Topic: Tadlotlindrirajer: Community Kobold Camp: Please Vote On Our Fate! (Read 30871 times)