RANDOM ENCOUNTERS: KOBOLD
Seducing Her Inexperienced Prey
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Copyright © 2020 C. D. Fable
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All characters appearing in this story are over the age of 18.
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Hardwood Forest smelled of fresh moss and damp wood. As the day gave way to twilight, the lush green woods became a symphony of chirping. A good number of birds were in the middle of their mating season and they refused to be deterred by the light rain dancing on the treetops. The rich foliage swayed in the breeze and offered shelter to the various woodland creatures that called this forest their home.
Crispen sat on a mostly rotted log, tending to his fire amid the light pattering rainfall. He had managed to make a small muddy clearing, enough for his tent and a small fire. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as good at building fires as he was making lousy clearings. The damp logs produced more choking smoke than flame and kept most of the wildlife in the forest away. Most.
He'd been unsuccessful in his attempt to catch a juicy rabbit for dinner. As a result, he sat there, melancholy, watching his mixture of flour and water slowly slide down a wooden board placed in front of the fire. In a few minutes, it would turn into what might generously be described as bread. He decided he wouldn't stop it from sliding into the ashes in hopes it might gain some semblance of flavor.
It was in this moment, saturated in hunger and boredom, that he wondered if he'd made the right decision to leave his village. Joining an adventuring guild had been a dream of his for a while and if he wanted to be taken seriously he'd have to join a good one in a major city like Bodcathitch. He'd explained to his parents that hunting with Frank wasn't the same thing as joining a renowned guild. On the other hand, given that this was the fourth night in a row he was eating hardtack he wondered if he'd been too dismissive of hunting lessons.
He'd planned to stay on the well-trodden dirt roads that connected the various villages and towns. That was until he discovered an upturned merchant cart missing everything of value. He then decided it would be best to stay off the beaten path. Better experience for when he became a real adventurer, he reasoned. He tried not to think about how his decision was going to make his long journey even longer.
"I wonder what got that merchant cart," he wondered aloud to himself. He poked at the smoky fire with a stick. "Hope they're all okay." He decided to focus on watching his terrible meal slide closer into the ashes instead of letting his mind dwell on the thought.
An understated swish followed by a wild clattering startled him off his log. His eyes darted around the darkening woods. He unsheathed his rusty dagger and scrambled to his feet. The mix of mud and water on his hands made his grip slippery and unreliable. The muddy clearing was nearly impossible to run in without falling over face first. He steadied himself. Deep breath. The wild banging continued to ring through the forest. He swallowed and moved towards the noise.
His boots sucked and slurped in the mud as he pushed forward. He saw movement ahead. Something swaying around a tree. Something had tripped the snare trap he'd set earlier. He squinted, trying to figure out what kind of animal was capable of making such a racket. It sounded like pots and pans being hurled down a well.
The snare was filled with pots and pans.
"What in every hell..." he mumbled.
Within the pile of cookware, a pair of bright yellow eyes with long slit pupils focused on him. The rustling stopped.
"Hello," said the pots and pans in a feminine voice that was equal parts squeaky and raspy. It was far too casual a tone for someone restrained by a net, let alone pots and pans.
Crispen jumped back and held his dagger in front of him with both hands. "Are you some kind of pan elemental?" he asked, his voice shaking more than his weapon.
The pots and pans snorted and laughed at him. They clattered and clanged, arranging into a more humanoid form. A set of plump legs and stubby arms sprouted from the pile. The skin was greyish purple with hints of scales throughout.
"Ta-da!" said the squeaky voice. It lightly struggled and failed, to stop the slow rotation of the snare trap.
Crispen inspected the cookware. It wasn't a pan elemental. He noticed strands of butchers twine haphazardly binding everything together. As the snare continued to rotate he saw the bright yellow eyes coming back around.
"What..." he mumbled.
"You new or something?" asked the cookware.
"Huh?"
"Oh wow. You're cute but you're slow, huh? Banished? Runaway? Deserter?"
Crispen watched with confusion as the eyes rotated out of sight.
The voice continued, "You should probably head home if you can. You don't seem cut out for this. You didn't catch anything all day and when you finally do catch something you don't even know what it is."
"So what are you?" asked Crispen easing up a little.
The glowing eyes came around once more and narrowed on him. "I'm a kobold."
Crispen's eyes went wide. He held the dagger towards the captured kobold and took another big gulp.
"Woah! Easy! Easy!" shouted the kobold.
"You- you speak the common tongue?" asked Crispen, his voice cracking a little.
"It's not that hard. You rob enough merchants and you pick up a few things. Now put the knife away and let's talk."
Crispen pondered the situation as he watched the eyes rotate out of sight again.
"Hey human, this is getting annoying. Cut me down would you?"
"I'm not letting you out!"
"I didn't say let me out, I said cut me down."
"I haven't decided if I'm-"
"You're not gonna kill me," laughed the kobold. "You'd have done it by now. I've seen killers and you're not one of 'em. Your eyes are too soft. Also blue, which I like. Like gems."
"I don't- I don't know what to do..." said Crispen. "Where do we go from here?" He wiped away the sweat from his muddy brow.
"Well, you can tie me up and sell me in town. Might escape before then. One way or another it's not your problem after a while."
Crispen raised a suspicious eyebrow at the creature. "How do I know you won't try and kill me?"
"Two reasons. One, if I kill you and word gets out then my tribe gets a bounty put on it. No one cares if we just steal stuff from merchants. Well, the merchants care. But if they really cared they'd hire some goons to keep their stuff safe. But you start killing humans, that's like throwing stones at a hornet's nest. Sure, it's funny, but those things will sting you. In this case, sting means kill. You follow me?"
Crispen lowered his knife and felt a little more at ease. "How do I know you're not lying?" He stood up straight and walked around to meet the kobold's gaze.
"Because, reason number two. If I wanted to kill you I'd have done it when you were failing to catch that rabbit."
"You've been spying on me?!"
"Well, I didn't just stumble into your camp. I mean- I stumbled into the trap but-"