Chapter 21

A slightly manic looking red-scaled Kobold wandered through a sandy tunnel. His eyes skittered off the walls as though terrified something was stalking him.

The kobold was well armed in a manner of speaking, he held a sword in one claw. What was less obvious was that beneath his newly endowed clothing his wrist was chained to his hip so he was unable to raise it. On his front was a rectangular piece of canvas stretched over a wooden frame that hung down from his neck to his knees. On the canvas was a rather crude charcoal drawing of a Kobold doing lewd things to a female Piscine while a different Piscine looked at the scene and cried. The copulating Kobold and Piscine had a number of poorly drawn hearts floating around their heads.

Unsure of what he was waiting for the Kobold peered down the tunnel. He couldn’t see much as a corner blocked his view. Still, he soon quite clearly heard the nearing tramping of many feet and began to back away. A deep growl came from somewhere behind him in the shadows and made him freeze in place out of fear. He could do nothing but watch as what appeared to be a small Piscine army rounded the corner and came into view.

The front line stared at the Kobold as they kept marching and then as their eyes wandered downward and took in the drawing attached to the front of the Kobold they began to slow and angry muttering broke out, then warbling shouts and pointed fingers. A cry of rage came from a particularly personally offended Piscine at the back.

“H-hey!” said the Kobold. “I’ve got nothing to do with this! It’s some kind of trap! You’ve got to listen to me!”

The Piscine ignored him and continued to argue and point.

“Please! I’m just a poor slave being made to do this against my will! I’m not your enemy!

A more leaderly looking Piscine with gold scales and carrying a trident in his webbed hands slammed the butt of his weapon into the ground and pointed an accusing finger at the Kobold. He then asked what was probably some kind of important question. Unfortunately it was in the Piscine language and completely unintelligible.

“Oh gods they don’t speak Common, Oh no no nooo.”

The Kobold panicked and not knowing what else to do he shook his head in the negative.

This seemed to infuriate the leader and he screamed at the poor Kobold and took a step forward. The rest of the Piscine army took a threatening step forward too.

The leader held up a hand and as though to give the Kobold one last chance to explain himself he asked something else, biting off each word as though he was desperately trying to put aside his anger.

The Kobold listened. Paused. Then he turned and ran.

The Piscine looked on in shock. Then their eyes fell on the second different canvas rectangle attached to the Kobold’s back. This one showed a quite clearly pregnant Piscine in the background while in the foreground a cheekily grinning and winking Kobold gave a double thumbs up while taking a large poo in the open mouth of a crying Piscine. The poo was quite detailed and someone had put quite a bit of time into shading it.

As one beast the Piscine army screamed their rage and stampeded down the tunnel. Howls of indignation echoed off the walls, none more so than from the leader Piscine who’s eyes were bulging out of his head out of sheer apoplectic wrath.

The unfortunate Kobold fled like the hounds of hell were on his tail.

Sand flashed by, a newly built wall that diverted the tunnel into a side tunnel, then some slightly odd looking sand, then normal sand again. A flash of green to the side and a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him into a slim crack in the wall. A knife pressed into his side and that one Goblin who seemed to help the terrifying beast that ate everything appeared.

He could only watch with her as the army of Piscine charged forward and over the odd bit of sand. They lasted only a moment before the canvas and tent pole frame collapsed under the strain and a yawning chasm opened up below them. The sheer rage of the Piscine kept those at the back driving forward so those who were at the front and saw the hole coming could only howl in frustration as those behind pushed and shoved forward tipping them into it.

Opal stepped from the crack as the last few survivors stumbled to a stop and looked down in dismay at the hole that their brethren had fallen in. Not for long though as a long stick prodded one in the back and shoved him into the hole. Then the next. It took a few seconds for the remaining Piscine to realise what was happening and they turned to find Rain prodding them in one by one with an extended pole that easily out ranged their own spears. They gnashed their teeth and screamed at him but could do little as he used his overwhelming strength and range to punt them into the hole one by one.