//------------------------------// // Kobolds and an Ancient City... Why not. (Chapter Three) // Story: On Black Wings Unfurled, A Half-Dragon's Roar to be Heard // by Coal //------------------------------// Chapter Three Kobolds and an Ancient City… Why not. I hate falling, so very much. The funny thing is I didn't really care one way or another about it twenty four or so hours ago. Then I fell from the sky, fell off a roof, fell down a hill, and now I’m falling down a hole in the ground. Well, I guess falling is better than being set on fire. Thinking of the cup as half full are we? I vaguely notice the walls of the tunnel appeared to have been carved out using tools, not some natural formation or, as I piece together that Cobalt probably carved out her cave from the hillside, dug out using large claws. No, this was definitely done by tools. Too bad I don’t have the time on my hands to ponder who would have dug a tunnel here as I tumble down it. I felt my head slam into a wall at least three times, my wings instinctively moving to try and shield some of the blow so at least I avoided cracking my skull open, and I can’t even begin to try and count the times I hit one of my limbs on something. It probably didn’t help too much that this tunnel was small, it was circular and around four feet in all directions but try as much as I did I wasn’t able to stop my descent largely in part that the further down I went the darker it got, and from the times I managed to slam my shins into them there were some kind of crude steps going downwards. I land with a thud on the ground that knocks the breath out of me. Trying to catch my breath I realize I must have finally reached the bottom on the tunnel, or at least a part where it leveled out for a little while. Once I get my breath back I try and take a quick inventory of myself the best as I can in the pitch black around me. Okay, is everything still attached? Okay, arms, hands… hand and claw, fingers, legs, wings. All still there. Yup, everything’s there. Alright, anything broken? Everything seems to be moving alright, and beyond a lot of bruises everything seemed to be in working order. Heh, you’re lucky you didn't snap your neck. Letting out a groan caused by the soreness of my body I started to try and get up, but as I try to reach my full standing height I slam my head into the ceiling before remembering that the tunnels had only been around four feet high when I could still see. "Well, it’s only one more bump to add to the dozens I've gotten in the past day." I say as I hunch down a bit so that I can move around a bit, my wings felt a little cramped and I knew if I stayed like this too long my back would start killing me but it was better than slamming my head into the ceiling. I grope outward towards where I think the side of the tunnel is and feel the rough stone against my fingers. Now then, I have a choice. I can continue down this pitch black tunnel and walk into who knows what, and considering something had to have made this tunnel and carved those steps leading out that might not be one of the healthiest choices to make. Or, I could head back up and out of the tunnel and see if Cobalt had cooled down a bit after I threw that chair in her face. ... Definitely the tunnel. Yep, hands down. So for once, I continue onward in agreement with myself, as I use the wall against my hand as my guide down the tunnel. The slow pace set by the pitch black combined with the hunched over posture is very unnerving and the longer I'm down here, the more and more I feel like something is going to jump out at me. I feel my foot hit something solid fairly hard and yelp in surprise at it. When I do so for just a moment I see the tiniest speck of light, so small I wouldn't have noticed it if there was any light around, appear in front of my face for just a second. The hell was that? I think you're starting to go crazy... er-crazier I mean. I know I saw something what in the world was it.It was there for a second and the next it was gone, and it had appeared right in front of me to top it all off. Come on, does this entire world just not want to give me a break for once? Well, at least I don't think things can get much worse than having a dragon breathe fire at you. ... Dragons breathe fire. Wow I'm an idiot sometimes, I can breathe fire too can't I? I saw a speck of flame come from my mouth when I yelped. Alright, this might actually help a bit if I can actually get it to work. Alright... how in the world do I do this. I mean, it's not like I feel there's now a part of my gut that'll shoot fire if I focus on it. Well, Cobalt seemed to take in a deep breath when she said she was going to burn me alive, so lets start with that. Slowly beginning to take in a deep breath, letting the air fill up my lungs I try and get the same feeling of air being forced out when I yelped. Feeling the pressure building and the feeling of something coming up my throat and for a second I felt like I might be making myself throw up, but when I opened my mouth I saw fire. Freaking fire, from my mouth. What now world, eat it. Lasting only for a second I could see a small jet of fire coming out from my face and extending a few feet down the tunnel, lighting it up briefly. I could feel the maniacal grin forming on my face as I saw that flame. I wanted this feeling to last, for once since I landed in this place I felt good, even my battered body couldn't get in the way of the feeling. Heck, not even after I took that attack from the unicorn had I felt like this, when my claw blocked the attack I had only felt a surge of energy. This... this was a feeling I wasn't too familiar with, but I guess I'll find out exactly what it is in due time. That's the way it tend to go with things like this after all, sort it out when the time comes for it. Right now though, there was the small matter of moving forward through this cramped tunnel. Tearing a piece of my tattered shirt off with my claw I take a moment to wind it around one of my fingers and hold it up. Taking in another deep breath, hoping that my dragon claw would be fire resistant because if it wasn't this would hurt quite a bit. This time aiming for a bit more control with it, I managed to shoot a small flame and it hit the cloth on my claw. Luckily the flame isn't burning my claw, as I had expected, it felt a little warm sure but it wasn't burning me so I was fine with it. Especially considering now I have an improvised torch to work with. Looking off into the light cast by the burning cloth I see that the tunnel continues down for a while still, and I know that by the time I get to the end of it my neck is going to be killing me. Oh well, onward and upwards. I'm not really sure for how long I was walking, minutes? hours? It's hard to tell when there isn't any sun to go by. I do finally reach the end of the tunnel however, and it opens up into a decently sized cavern. This cavern, while it appeared to have been naturally formed, showed signs of something working the walls and floor with tools. I can't see any reason why someone would do that though. I mean digging a tunnel is understandable, but why waste time working on a natural cavern that has nothing in it? Taking a few steps into the room, thankful to finally be able to stand up straight, I start walking out into the cavern, looking off into the gloom cast by my light. Suddenly I hear a subtle *Click*. I feel something whiz past my chest fast, and it causes me to freeze up for a moment making my eyes go wide in surprise. Looking in the direction where the whiz had felt to be going I see a long, vicious looking dart laying on the ground below what looks to be a decently sized new hole in the wall. Looking in the opposite direction I notice several holes in the wall leading across the cavern. So that's why someone would spend time working on a cavern with nothing in it. Traps. With new caution in my step I start making my way across the cavern much more slowly and carefully. I make a large effort of avoiding anything on the floor that looked unnatural, fearing some kind of pressure plate. I don't relish the idea of another close call with a dart. The last one had almost taken a chunk out of my gut as is. Wait... The tunnel had been around four feet high and the dart had been shot at a similar height these traps had likely been designed by creatures of around that height and intended for them to be used against either rivals or other creatures of similar height. The cavern ceiling was high too. High enough for someone with wings to get some breathing room... It's a stupid idea, the closest I've been to flying so far was gliding and letting my wings catch the air under me. There had been basically no effort on my part when I did that. What I'm thinking about now though would involve me actively flying under my own power. Oh come on ya big baby, what's the worst that could happen? I hate you. Shaking my head I try my best to get the butterflies out of my stomach and try and move my wings. It takes me a little while to find the new appendages and try to actively move them, but I do manage to extend them and move them around in circles a bit. It would probably have been helpful to see Cobalt fly, but considering she has a very different body to try and move I don't think it'll make all that much of a difference. Or at least I hope so. Tentatively moving my wings a bit more I slowly start to feel my feet lifting up off of the ground. I have to admit, this is kind of exciting. Feeling encouraged by my feet starting to lift off of the ground I start flapping my wings with faster and with more intensity. I'm not disappointed as I feel the air being pushed under me as I start to rise further up. The feeling of weightlessness is invigorating, and I find myself idly wondering how birds can ever stand being on the ground. Experimenting a bit further I manage to get myself slowly moving forward, and while it wasn't what anyone would call graceful I think it's pretty damn good for someone who didn't even have wings for all too long. Without having to walk like every rock was a landmine even at my current pace flying I was getting across the room a lot faster and with a lot less anxiety. Reaching the opposite side of the cavern I find myself looking at another tunnel similar to the first. Oh come on, my neck was just starting to feel better too. Continuing onward I repeat a similar process from the previous tunnel and flying whenever I came into a cavern large enough for it. Taking stock as I made my way through the underground I notice that whoever had built this place really liked traps. From my aerial view of the caverns I could see all manner of traps arrayed. I'm really glad I have these wings right about now. One wrong step down on the ground would be pretty painful. Finally however, just as the light of my "torch" begins to die out, I start to see a light at the end of the tunnel I'm crawling my way through. Excitement takes hold as I think I've finally found something besides neck breaking tunnels and trap filled caverns. As I get closer and closer to the light my senses are bombarded, and I realize that there was a great deal of sounds and smells coming from that direction as well. As I pass through the opening, I find myself looking out into an entire city built under the ground. I'm not even kidding, the place is enormous and easily dwarfed the town I had originally found myself in. There didn't appear to be any torches around, but I can see some kind of lava river giving off the light I saw earlier, and there was a large amount of three foot tall lizard-like bipeds walking around the city and I found myself assuming that they were the inhabitants of this place. Oh, and there were two of them on either side of me armed with spears. It seems like I walked in right when one of them was in the middle of the yawn. When he noticed me come out of the tunnel and rise to my full height the little guy looked positively dumbfounded by what he saw. The one who was yawning had scales the color of a low flame, and the other had patchy muddy brown mixed with black. Why do these things look familiar, I know I haven't seen anything like them but something about them is ringing a bell. "W-what it be Nirkul!?" The one who had been yawning says looked at me his voice slightly reminiscent of a yipping dog, evidently his drowsiness left the moment he laid eyes on me. "Not know! Not know!" The one who was evidently named Nirkul replies. Remembering the last time I started some of the natives had ended I hold up my unclawed hand in what I hoped was a disarming gesture as I say, "Hold on guys, I'm not gonna do anything." Extending my wings a bit add "I mean hey, I'm even part lizard, see?" Their eyes bulge even more as the still unnamed one says, "It talks! it talks!" "No, look Virnuln, it have dragon wings! You not know what that means!?" Nirkul says, causing his fellow to perk up at the thought. So the second one's name was Virnuln. I really hope I don't have to pronounce any of these guys' names any time soon. "Um... what does my having wings mean?" I ask in what I'm hoping is a calm and even voice. "Name!? Name!? What is it!?" Nirkul asks, seemingly ignoring my question in his obvious excitement. Well, excitement was better than being chased with spears, and I really don't relish the thought of trying to get back out the way I came with these guys on my tail. "Well... I'm called Coal if that's what you're asking..." I say, feeling just a bit awkward with the way they're talking. It's understandable sure, but the way they talk is a bit jarring to hear. Hmm, these guys are really reminding me of something but what is it? "See Virnuln? Name match scales!" "So, what does me having wings mean?" I ask again, hoping to actually receive an answer this time. "It important! Very Important! We not say right, no no, see Kurltmak!" Virnuln says "Who is Kurltmak?" "He the Dreganem, leader and knower of old things!" Nirkul says to me, after he does so he turns to Virnuln and says, "Go! Go! Tell Kurltmak!" Virnuln's head bobs a few times so quickly I think he might have rattled his brains a little. He quickly takes off at a run down one of the larger carved stone streets leading into the city while Nirkul was still stared up at me with his mouth slightly agape. ... Awkward silence again. Why the heck to these things seem so familiar, it feels like it's staring me in the face... Wait a Second, are these guys Kobolds? Looking at the little guy named Nirkul in front of me again it certainly seemed like he was a Kobold. He was short, lizard like, his voice sounded kind of like a yipping dog, and he didn't look at that physically strong. For once in my life, playing board games in the basement with my friends was actually helping me out. Kobolds were monsters that the players could fight as they played the fantasy Role-playing game known as Dungeons and Dragons. Generally, they were considered weak and often used as cannon fodder minions as they served the dragons they fanatically revered. Usually getting creamed by any adventurer worth their spit, due to their size and relatively weak strength. My heart had always gone out to the little guys when they were mentioned, I mean it must really suck to be them you know? Considered so weak as to be disregarded by people without a second thought later on in the game. I however always viewed Kobolds in a different light, still do in fact. Something I always felt that people overlooked was the fact that Kobolds aren't stupid. I mean seeing these two's reactions to me walking in and the way they talk probably doesn't support that too much. While they might be fanatical at times and their brains go at about the speed of light at times which makes them seem jittery and stupid but the past half-hour or so of me avoiding traps would beg to differ. Kobolds are crafty, and what they don't have in raw strength they make up for with tricks, traps, and overwhelming numbers. I really hope this isn't some kind of ploy they're using to get me to lower my guard. Nirkul shakes his head to get his focus back as he notices me staring at him and says, "Come! Come! Hall of the Dreganem, where Kurltmak is! Follow! Follow!" He says as he begins to hustle in his clunky set of miniature armor towards the city and looks back over his shoulder looking at me expectantly. I feel a moment of reluctance to follow brought upon by my previous experiences with the sentient races of this world, but thinking about it I don't really have much choice in the matter. These guys evidently built the tunnels I used to get here and they definitely know them better than I do and I doubt if they wanted to catch me there wasn't much chance of me escaping. Giving Nirkul a nod I begin to follow him as he runs ahead of me into the streets, shooing anyone who might be in the way of my path towards "The Hall of the Dreganem." Do you have any idea how ironic it would be for the one monster you always kind of liked to be the one that killed you? Becaue if they're leading you further in to get surrounded, you're boned. As I walk down the wide street of the underground city I see Kobolds on the sides of the street having similar reactions to the ones Nirkul and Virnuln had when they saw me. Quite a bit of yipping, shouting, and excitement followed my walk through the street. I have to say, if this is how they treat everyone who stumbles their way down here I can't imagine what reaction they'd have if someone important actually showed up. Maybe it's just the wings. Walking down the street besides the excited Kobolds I see that almost all of the buildings in this underground city appeared to be very old. From the look of the buildings this place could have been around for thousands of years. The age of the buildings wasn't what really caught my attention though, what really surprised me was how well crafted all the buildings looked. Whenever Kobold construction was represented in D&D the only parts that weren't crude and ramshackle were the traps they built and those had to be well built or they just wouldn't work right. Walking across a bridge that was built over the river of lava I had noticed earlier, I was surprised that it didn't feel nearly as hot as I had expected it to be. It was still hot of course, but it didn't feel "Melt the flesh off of your bones" hot. Oh well, just another mystery that'll have to wait until later, because just a few moments later I arrived at the base of a set of steps leading up to a large building and Nirkul was waiting at the top of them outside the front door. Well, here I am at the Hall of the Dreganem. Lets go see Kurltmak. --- Princess Celestia was having trouble sleeping, trying her best to get some rest before she had to raise the sun in the morning, but it eluded her. She knew why she couldn't sleep, even if she didn't want to admit it. It was that letter. Or more specifically, what she had learned shortly after she had received the letter through means unknown. She had learned earlier today during an audience with her subjects when a messenger arrived bearing news that the independent frontier city Ironhoof had been thrown into a small uproar... okay, a large uproar, when something had fallen out of the sky and landed in the town. It was a creature that walked on two legs, had no fur to speak of besides a patch on top of it's head. It had a wicked claw at the end of one foreleg and the other had been even stranger ending with small nubs for it's digits. Then, as it had escaped the city it blocked an ice storm spell and grew black dragon wings on the spot. Normally, this wouldn't bother Celestia all that much. The city was in a dangerous area after all, things like that were bound to happen at one point or another. No, what really bothered her was that the creature had supposedly appeared around the same time she had read the letter and while it was still likely just a coincidence she still found it unnerving. "It's nothing." She assured herself. "It's nothing more than a coincidence." Despite having said that, she still couldn't sleep.