Chapter 19

From the far side of the cavern, a kobold face appeared. It peered into the cavern for a second, and then withdrew out of sight. Loud chattering could be heard from that direction, and Vennoa understood that the kobold was yelling to other kobolds about the party’s location.

Pua took a deep breath, drew his swords, and walked calmly towards the tunnel where the kobold had disappeared into. Pua looked a little better now after being out of the sun for some time. Agate also took out his dagger and followed behind Pua. Fender and Vennoa hung back in the cavern, near the tunnel that they had arrived in.

Suddenly, two kobolds appeared in between the party. They had come through some of the holes in the wall. It must have been big enough for kobolds to travel in, compared to the larger-sized party members. The kobolds were dressed in leather armor, with the same black dragon scale on their shoulder. The dragon scale was clearly visible this time, since the kobolds weren’t wearing any cloak to cover it. The kobolds each held crossbows, and they quickly took aim and fired. One kobold fired at Agate, and the other fired towards Vennoa.

The bolt meant for Agate hit him in his thigh from behind, and he cried out in pain. Agate grabbed his leg and knelt down. The other bolt flew towards Fender and Vennoa, but it wasn’t clear whom the bolt had been aimed at. The bolt flew between both of them and hit the wall, causing a small spray of gravel. Upon firing their crossbows, the kobolds quickly climbed into their respective holes and disappeared again.

Vennoa heard whispering behind her, and turned around quickly. “Watch out!” Vennoa cried as she saw three kobolds running into the cavern, from the tunnel the party had been in. These kobolds were dressed similarly to the others, but they wielded daggers in their hands.

Fender spun around, and was almost too late to react to one of the kobolds slashing her with its dagger. Compared to the daggers the kobolds in the farm had been using, this dagger looked very well-maintained. Fender dodged the first slash from the kobold, but the kobold didn’t let up. It continued swinging its dagger, and finally it drew blood from Fender’s waist. The kobold then quickly turned and ran back into the tunnel we had been in.

Why can’t they just attack us face to face, like what the other kobolds did! Kill them, they hurt your friend. Vennoa cursed in frustration at the kobolds appearing and disappearing, and her rage burned at the image of Tempest’s corpse that flashed in her mind.

The other two kobolds noticed that Vennoa was fully aware of their presence, and turned around quickly to run. Vennoa shot a firebolt at one of them, and the firebolt hit it on its back. The kobold’s back burned and charred, and the kobold stumbled forward from the impact of the firebolt, but it was still alive. The other kobold helped to keep its balance, and pulled it back into the tunnel.

“Agate!” Fender yelled out, noticing that Agate had also been hurt. “Are you alright?”

Agate pulled out the crossbow bolt in his thigh with a loud grunt, stood up slowly, and tested his balance. He nodded to Fender, and went gingerly towards Pua. But this time, he kept an eye on the holes where the kobolds had come from and disappeared into.