Way of the kobold

Damn.

I thought to myself, this glass of whisky is nearly empty and I haven’t got two copper coins to rub together for another drink. What’s a kobold like me to do at a time like this?

I had been drinking in this tavern for some time now, spending my hard earned money on strong drink. I haven’t even got a place to stay for tonight, maybe there is a cosy corner with some soft hay in the stables. It must be a strange occurrence, to see a mild like me drinking in a tavern. I have a short stature, but with a burly physique and big strong muscles that are unheard of for a kobold such as myself. I have reddish-brown, hide like skin, with short sharp claws at the ends of my fingers, and tough knuckles from all my training. I have a short snout, with a small black and blunt horn at the end, with knife like ears, and stubby black horns that twist slightly and protrude at the top of my skull. My eyes are the colour of emeralds and can seem intimidating. I resemble a stocky dragon with humanoid features more than an actual kobold, but it’s easier to explain to people than of my true origin.

I heard the ruckus and celebrations of people around me, as far as I could see, I was the only kobold frequenting this establishment tonight. No one approached me for conversation or to even offer me a drink. I swirled my glass, watching the amber contents insides awash around to the movements I created. I wanted more drink, and I wasn’t nearly as drunk as I planned on being tonight.

Loud chattering and cheering was made behind me as I sat at the bar, on a stool that I had to hop onto.

As I was about to drain the last of the whisky, an oaf of a human stumbled into the back of me, causing me to spill the last of my drink onto the bar. I was nearly knocked off my stool in the process, but managed to steady myself.

“Bastard!” I yelled out.

I looked at the culprit who barges into me and had wasted my ****. He had a burly frame, and looked very drunk.

The human's eyes snapped towards me, his face reddening with anger. “You clumsy little lizard!” He bellowed, his voice echoing through the tavern. “Look what you've done! You've spilled my drink all over the bar!” He took a step closer to me, his massive frame looming over my small, scaled body. I stood my ground, my heart racing with anticipation, as I realized that this human was not going to let the matter slide.

I opened my mouth to protest, to explain that it was he who had crashed into me, but before I could utter a word, he continued to rant.

“You're always causing trouble, you kobolds. You're like a plague, infesting our taverns and our streets.”

His face was red with rage, and his eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets as he took another step closer to me. I could smell the stench of ale and sweat emanating from his body, I instinctively readied myself for a fight, waiting for him to make the first move.

The drunken man swung for me, but I saw it coming. I dodged backwards and he stumbled a little due to putting all his power into that one punch. I struck him in the belly, causing him to hunch over and become winded. I then activated my magic, feeling the source of it run through my body and reach my hand. I used ice magic to engulf my clenched fist in frost, spiked icicles at my knuckles. I used an uppercut at his chin, connecting with brute ****, and leaving frost damage on him, as well as the pain from my bludgeoning fist. The human was knocked onto his back and fell ****.

The patrons that stopped to watch the fight now turned their attention away, not wanting to suffer the same fate as the **** human. Perhaps they were in awe with the magic I used in the fight, or perhaps they thought I would have lost, no matter, I was confident I could beat anyone in a brawl. Thanks to my heritage and training I received from a skilled monk, I had a better advantage than the average kobold in a fist fight.

I wanted to return to my drink, but momentarily forgotten it had been spilt by the human, I muttered under my breath a final insult. I was about to make my way out of the tavern, in hopes to find somewhere comfy to sleep tonight, until I was stopped by and blonde man in well crafted plate armour, with a sword at his hip, and a metal shield hoisted into his back.

“Hello, my friend.” He spoke to me. I still felt bitter and a little angry from my brawl, so did not meet his polite greeting. “A moment of your time, please?”

“I’m not in the mood.” I told him.

“Please, I’ll but you a drink, and then we can talk.”

I took the offer into consideration, and couldn’t see a reason not to hear him out for a free drink.

“I want a strong drink.” I said to him.

“Of course, I’m Bentley, by the way.”

“Coal.” I gave him my name.

He bought me a drink and led me to a table with three women, whom must be apart of his party. He sat next to a stunning blonde, with beautiful features and long, luscious hair. She wore plate armour like Bentley, and a shield was propped against the bench beside her. Bentley say next to her and I took a free spot opposite them at the table.

As I sat down, I got a proper look at the rest of the women. There was an elf with olive brown skin and pointed ears, which was expected of an elf. Her dark brown hair was in two long braids that looked like they reached towards her knees, she kept the ends of them on the bench so they didn’t scrape the floor as she sat. She wore leather armour that hugged her shapely body, and a bow was across the table in front of her.

The last woman was the most striking in her appearance, not just for her attractiveness, but how she looked overall. She had hair that cut off at her shoulder, and it was black as night. She had black eye shadow and eye liner makeup on that made her blue eyes shine and draw attention to them. Her lips looked plump and had dark coloured lipstick applied onto them, she also had silver piercings just below her lips and through her nose. If you were somehow able to, her eyes were not the only thing that drew a man’s state to her. Her voluptuous body defiant caught the male’s gaze. And to cover it, she wore a form fitting black dress that emphasised her curvy figure. The dress showed evidence of cuts and tears in strategic places to show as much skin as possible. Her tits were practically fit to bursting out of the top of her dress, and spill out for everyone to see. She also had tattoos on the exposed parts of her body, the black ink with deviant and some lewd designs could be seen on her arms and at the top of her chest.

“This is my party. First, is my wife and soulmate, Kellia.” He started first by introducing the beautiful blonde woman sitting next to him. She simply nodded in my direction, not really taking interest of my being there. “Kellia, is a paladin like myself, and a good one at that. Next is Semmy, our expert in survival skills, she is our ranger and has the keen accuracy to hit her mark every time.” He pointed toward the elf with the long braids. She gave me a warm smile and a wave.

“And lastly, is our cleric-sorceress, Rain.” He gestured to the black haired woman. She looked me over intensely, taking every detail of my appearance in. I had to admit, the way her eyes stared at me was turning me on.

“And everyone.” He addressed the group. “This is Coal.”

“Hello.” I said to no one in particular. I took a gulp of my drink.

“You see, Coal. We have an offer for you. We saw you fight that man and thought how amazing you are in a fight. My party and I have a quest to go on, and could use a capable fighter such as yourself, especially with that magic you used. What is that by the way?”

“It’s part of my heritage. It’s magic passed down to me form my…my father.” I said the last word with disdain.

“It’s amazing. How you can channel it into a punch. Is it just frost damage you can inflict?” Bentley asked me.

“No. There are other elements I can use. It’s helped me a lot in some tight squeezes.”

Everyone seemed to be taking interest in my fighting capabilities. Even the blonde called, Kellia, had leaned in to listen.

“Well, join us, become apart of our party and there’s gold and drink and merry times we can have.” Bentley said cheerfully.

I contemplated his offer at first, I had never been in a party before, most people turned their noses up at me. Maybe this is something I could grow to like, being in a party. The promise of gold, a place to sleep perhaps and food and **** to fill my belly, sounds like an good deal. And who knows, maybe I’ll finally get laid, and fuck a beautiful curvy woman. I have never been able to have sex before, as I only have an attraction to humanoid women, and not even whores would let me fuck them, even with gold I tried to buy them with. And with the way my luck is now starting to turn, I might get a chance.

“Fuck it!” I exclaim. “I’ll join your party and this quest you’re on.”

“Excellent!” Bentley yelled. He reached out to take my hand, I grasped it and shook it with vigour. “I’m sure you’ll be an integral and important member in our party, who will provide the best of what you have.”

Little did he know how much I would give this party, and how important I would become.