Well for starters...

Ren tilted his head, his tongue resting on his teeth while his eyes squinted. “I suppose it depends.” He said, the words unsure.

Now it was my turn to be mildly confused. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well typically you don’t really see any harmful curses anymore. There’s just more powerful beneficial ones around. You said I was meant to be affected too though, which has me wondering by what?” He said, a smile at the edge of his lips. His explorative nature was starting to kick in it seemed.

“Well, it’s hard to explain…” I said, trailing into my best approximation of what’s going on, telling ren of the door, the people staring when they never used to. It occurred to me then that maybe kobolds were just odd in a city like this, with its large and sprawling population so distant from any proper mines.

Ren dismissed that quickly, saying, “no, no this city still has your kind running all sorts of amok in different places. In fact I think if you walk into a library or chemist, you’ll find at least a few, and that’s not even mentioning the shadier parts of the city.” He had a look of thoughtfulness on his face for a moment, probably trying to work it out for himself just what was going on… or maybe just reminiscing.

Figuring he just didn’t want to be impolite, I attempted to break some tension, “look, you can go and say whatever it is you want to say. At this point I just don’t want to have to deal with whatever is happening anymore. And that’s not to mention that it could just get worse.”

Ren, surprisingly, offered a different opinion. “Sure, you could do that. And it does sound like it’s a curse, so you might be able to get it cured at the medics, or a specialist. In fact it sounds like a very weird curse, so maybe you should seek some wise and old crackpot healer. But why is it such a bad thing? It hasn’t really caused any harm yet so maybe it’s just something like fate? Like some god smiling on you?” He rhetorically asked, smiling.

“Fate? Are you serious? No, I’ve just been lucky someone hasn’t done something I couldn’t walk away from. And I’m pretty sure it’s not benevolent since no one can damn talk to me without some sense of uhhh… lets say urgency, besides you. So cough up, surely you know someone who can cure me.”

Leaning in, the suave merc rolled his eyes and spoke. “Fine, there’s this apprentice at the medics. She’ll probably be your best option, though I’m only saying that because she’s patched me up a few times. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s running the place now, assuming the old idiot has finally croaked anyway, but she has definitely got a good handle on curses. She cured me of a really bad hex at one point which gave me somewhere around 5 days of life left, let alone actually surviving during those 5 days. She definitely knows her stuff.”

“Perfect, I’ll be asking her then.” I say, ready to get up and no doubt get snuggled by Eekaa the second I step foot in my room. Ren isn’t quite finished though, requesting just one last topic before I leave, removing the glove on his right hand. The glitter of metals is definitely cause for having the thick gloves.

“Oh, by the way, I have this ring, supposedly it stops succubi, but as far as I know it actually just makes you a little harder to become infatuated with. It might have some sort of useful effect for you I’d guess?” He says, offering a ring about the right size for me.

“Thanks. I’ll see if it works I guess.” I reply, slipping it onto my forefinger. It fits well oddly enough. Ren put his glove back on to cover the no doubt expensive accessories, though it wasn’t lost on me how pale his hands were. He must’ve worn those gloves for a long time, especially considering how clean the thin ring was.

Muttering some parting words, Ren finally let me slip fully from the booth and I made my way toward bed. Inspecting the ring a bit closer, it was carved very lightly in some intricate way, something that barely showed itself in the light. It almost shimmered or shifted as I kept observing it.

Arriving at my door, I pushed aside the wooden surface, closing it behind me quietly. My tunic hit the floor, then my pants, and my shirt next. Unclipping the new addition to my wardrobe, I folded the wrapping up and placed it at the desk. Its silken softness was a reminder of the day I’d had and the new friend I had apparently gained. The idea of the date alone lightly flushed my cheeks again.

Finally crawling into bed, I found Eekaa’s embrace, and just as predicted, she pulled me in, her strong arms slipping around my much smaller form, the squish of her tits falling into my neck as my snout found space to rest against her. She still smelt like the bath soap’s clean scent. It was a pleasant and soft place to be.

Still, thoughts of today raced. It’d been such an eventful day, not to mention that I had woken up late. I’ve barely stepped foot in this city, and yet I have a new partner, a new ring, a new potential other partner, a weird curse, a crazy interesting story, and a whole three days to wait for my tools. It’s enough to leave me wondering, is every day in a city like this?

My exhaustion didn’t hesitate to catch up with my thoughts then, a wave of sleep trying to overcome me. Turning my thoughts back to Eekaa, I sling my free arm over her, and let myself relax with one last stray thought lightly creasing my face before sleep.