I'm really glad people are enjoying this.
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Fale walked northeast, reaching the river, and followed the glistening waters downstream. Hours passed, and the sun set, for several minutes casting its red rays down at a shallow angle, bouncing off of the river. For a second, it appeared as if there were 2 suns. Fale was eager to reach the human town and trade the relics in, so she hardly slept at all that day. Strangely, she felt rested anyway as the moon rose. Looking forward to the fruits of this night, she entered the town. She walked towards the store, and noticed that the town seemed to be entirely devoid of life. Where was everyone? She noticed a child, holding painting supplies, sneaking by. The child had painted strange, provocative markings onto the side of a residential building under the cover of night.
What a talented young artist!
Fale entered the shop.
Where is everyone, on break?
Then, Fale realized the full implications of a detail she had overlooked. Humans are diurnal. Fale is nocturnal. Oops.
Fale left, and spotted a human merchant, tired, walking toward a residential building. Fale spoke, "Hey, hey trady guy! See me pricy tings?"
The merchant, tired to the point of headaches and blurred vision, replied, "Gah, can't you see its the middle of the goddamn night! Wait 'till I open my shop tomorrow." Fale replied, "Okie bye!" Fale walked away, thinking, humans are never going to be nocturnal, so she would have to be diurnal, for the time being. Fale walked into the bar, and saw various humans sleeping in the bed, but someone, in the dead of night, was counting change and assessing the monies-value of items. Finally, someone to talk to! All of these items were beginning to feel quite heavy to Fale.
Fale walked up to the princess, and spoke, "Hey trady lady! See my pretty tings?" The merchant princess raised her head up and looked down on Fale, replying, "Puh, a filthy kobold with a bunch of stone junk and rusted up copper crap? Try one of the merchant peons around town, and remind them to pay me their taxes! I have spending to do." Fale was beginning to become annoyed with this. She simply walked away from the Snob Princess, and went over to a bed. The bed was nice, kind of squishy, since it was made of Saguaro. Fale layed down on it and looked at her sword. It may be copper, it may be worn, rusted, and deteriorated over the years, but it was of superior quality craftsmanship, and encircled with bands of superior quality chimpanzee bone.
Junk my arse!
Knowing that some human drunk would probably try to take things, she tucked her belongings between her and the wall. If someone were to try to steal any of her belongings, she would be awakened, and they would be in for a 'healthy' dose of pain. Fale drifted off to sleep. Humans came in, and humans left Fale alone, the sight of a kobold with a sword intimidating them away from the valuables. Fale drempt, a sort of friendly sparring match between her conscious and her subconscious at times. She had one of the oddest dreams that night. Fale stood in a field in this dream, the animals around making conversation in perfectly audible language. In this dream, Fale saw a male kobold, wearing the oddest things of crystal and metal, passing underground, down to the heart of the world and through to the sky, above the sky. This kobold seemed to leap through reality itself, time and space irrelevant. This kobold landed right in front of Fale, and looked straight at her, and, somehow seemed strangely familiar to Fale. The human town she was familiar with stood behind him, the walls of the buildings turned to dust and blew away with the wind, leaving shallow ruins behind. The two kobolds smiled at one another, then, Fale woke up. She stood up, and yawned big, stretching. The sun was up. She gathered her belongings, and left the bar. What was that dream about? Who WAS that? She walked around, noting all of the shop-sized buildings. It would be stupid to try to carry coinage around for miles in her bare hands! She needed a backpack, so she looked around for a shop that sold one.
Someone left their breakfast. It was half-eaten scraps, trash that someone left for someone else to clean up, but to Fale...
Free lunch!
Fale snatched the warthog meat, and devoured it, licking her lips and smiling afterwards. Finally, real food. Seeing as this shop just sold accesories, she left, looking for any shop that had a backpack. There were turtle bones scattered outside of a residential building. What is it with these humans and their litter?
Finally, she entered a shop selling backpacks. She walked up to the merchant, and spoke, "Hey trady guy!" He looked down, and found the impulse to kick the kobold out overridden by the sight of such valuables. He grinned, and got that glint in his eye, classic and exclusive to human merchants, a glint that almost made gold coins appear in his eyes.
The merchant replied, "Welcome, kobold! I am Tor Growthglimmers."
Fale responded, "I's Fale Siegedriven. Les trade, I see big baggy ting der." She pointed to the $<<cow>>$. She held up her salvaged x*large copper chain leggings*x as a trade item. The human said, "Perhaps if you throw in some more goods I can make an offer." Deep down he was thinking, A little polish and wax and that rusted copper will look like gold. I wonder what fool I can get to mistake it as such? I'll be rich! Fale took off 3 bracelets, and offered them in addition to the leggings. The human merchant snatched the goods, grinning widely. He spoke, "Wonderful! Thank you for your business!" He then thought, And since no coins are involved, hehe, I don't have to pay taxes!
Fale spoke, "Thanksey, bye!"
The merchant replied, "Goodbye...", and continued in his head, ...lil' fuzzy sucker, heheh!
Fale slung the backpack on, and left, entering the meat shop again.
The merchant saw Fale again, and yelled, "YOU AGAI--", he then saw what Fale was wearing, grinned, and got that specific glint in his eye, like the last merchant. He cleared his throat, and continued, "I mean... Greetings, kobold!" He stopped to clear his throat, and cussed quietly under his breath. "I am Kost Roughnessvoice." Fale replied, "Hi der! Coins f'r old pretty tings?" She took off what she was wearing and displayed them. Kost spoke, "How much do you want for them?" Fale shrugged, unfamiliar with the human currency system, and replied, "Un-ze million 'n one moneyz!" Kost was not amused, but he forced himself to maintain a grin. Kost replied, "I can't possibly accept, but how about this? A true bargain. 90 Monies."
That's it? All this stuff and only 90? Theres no way, it sounds far too low. I'm being played the sucker here!
The merchant seemed to especially eyeball the <<elephant>>. Fale noticed this, and smiled, watching his eyes follow it as she moved it. She spoke , "Ye'z likes't eh?" Fale suspended the earring off of a string coming out of her backpack, and dangled it before the merchant, letting it swing left and right. Kost eagerly followed the overly-valuable, ancient earring with his eyes. Fale asked, "90 whyz't unly 90 eh?" Kost answered, "Ta-taxes... you pay taxes..." he seemed almost in a trance, but he snapped out of it, "gimme! It's 90! It's a bargain!" Kost seemed to be sinking back into a trance over the earring. Fale spoke, slowly, and calmly, "You'za do what I say!" Kost spoke, in a trance-like state, "Mon... mon... I'll do what you say... money..." Fale asked, "Now, how much'zt reeely wort?" Kost answered, "290 monies..."
I knew it! He wasn't even offering a third of its true value!
Fale said, "When I'z snap mai fingers, you'z a put 290 monies on dat table, k? I give the tings and take dat moneys. Issa bargain!"
Kost replied, "It's a bargain..."
Fale stopped, and snapped her fingers, snapping Kost out of the trance.
Fale gave Kost the ancient relics, and Kost placed a full 290 monies worth of coins on the table. 19 gold coins and a silver. Fale took the coins and put them in her backpack.
Kost spoke, "Thank you for your business!"
Fale replies, "Na, thank-se!"
As Fale left, Kost spoke again, "Please come again!" Fale replied, "I'z tink I will!" Fale snickered as she left. She walked back to the bar. The mayor was standing there. He spoke, "You! You're still alive?" He heard the money jingling around in Fale's backpack. The mayor frowned and continued, "The day a kobold gets rich is the day I'll eat my cow leather cap!" Fale grinned and replied, "I'za hold ya ta dat! I got'n rid dat skel'ton queen baddie fer ya!" The mayor hesitated, "That was YOU?" The mayor smiled. Maybe kobolds weren't such filth after all. He laughed, and walked outside. He yelled, "Hey everyone, Fale Siegedriven is the one who broke the first curse!" Fale walked out, those in earshot were in disbelief. Fale pulled out 4 gold coins and held them between her fingers. She spoke, "Thes'r didn' come from outta da sky!" Still in disbelief, they looked at Fale, but eventually, started clapping, laughing at the ridiculous thought of this creature, half as tall as them, ridding them of the nearby skeletons, but unable to deny it, as nobody else had claimed to have done it, and this kobold was the only kobold they'd ever seen that had gold coins.
She had been rewarded for her deeds with something far, far more valuable to her than gold, she had been rewarded with respect. They continued to clap, and Fale stood proudly, smiling.
[ October 10, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]
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Topic: A Kobold's Quest (Read 57163 times)