“…If you seek to run, do it now. I won’t pursue you.” You say, sword at the ready all the same. Kobolts. The little runts attach themselves to anything proclaiming itself as big and strong enough to help protect them. They serve, and in turn get protected. Mostly, they’re seen as vermin.

You don’t quite see it that way, they’re just trying to survive, but you still understand that anything that aligns itself with a dragon is likely not to be looked upon favorably.

Slowly, you step forward, ready for anything. Ever since the Tucker clan, people have learned to be careful around creatures that seem so simple. The kobolts, however, fail to move. More and more, the light shines upon their multicoloured hides. Scales and horns, the only part of them that implies a draconic lineage. One of the smaller creatures you’ve ever seen awkwardly shuffles forward, after being pushed by the others. It’s wringing its hands together, though it’s holding something in there.

“…B-brave dragon.” The little thing speaks. Female, guessing from the voice and the hips. Though you’re not an expert on kobolt sexual dimorphism.
“Knight.” You correct her.
“Dragon defeated our o-old master and… uh… You’re clearly very strong. So… Kobolts would like to give you a token of our… servitude.” Their English is a little broken, though serviceable enough. Correcting her was almost instinctual.

“I think you mean… gratitude? Or… wait, are you trying to bribe me into not killing you? There is no need. I just intend to bring the hoard back to where it belongs.”
“Oh, no! Great dragon is free to do as he wishes t-to us. THOUGH WE WOULD PREFER IF GREAT DRAGON DIDN’T TOASTY US!”

You blink.

You blink again.

“It’s fine, seriously.”
“Shall we help you carry back the hoard to your cave, great dragon!?”
“I am not a dragon.”
“But dragon is big, mighty and strong!”
“Thank you for the compliment, but I don’t need your aid.”
“OH NO! IS NOT MATTER OF NEED! I-is just…. We want to earn keep!”
Another kobold suddenly joins in behind this one. Another female, this one is more earth-covered… Thicker scales, too, and it has some kind of collar around her.
A prisoner’s collar.
“We help dragon, dragon lets stay, we stay safe!”
“And happy!”
“And loyal!”
Oh good, they add to eachother’s sentences. What a dynamic.
“You’re not staying with me. I’m a wandering knight, I have no home.”
“ROAD TRIIIP!”
“…I can’t feed all of you.”
“We very self-sufficient.” The earthen one says.
“How do you know that word but not proper sentence structure?” you ask.
“I eat dictionary once.” It replies.
Okie-dokie.

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>>5084908
>“I eat dictionary once.” It replies.
fucking kek, make a note to buy and feed some dictionaries. Fucks sakes books are expensive when you got no industry. We got flintlocks going. Does this mean the printing press has been invented or not yet?

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You hear a rumble coming from the dragon, and it seems to have finally drawn its last breath. You feel an odd sense of cold as exhales that same last breath. When you look back at the kobolts, you see that they multiplied. There are now four of them. Still no males amongst them, though perhaps your biology is just lacking.
“…How many of you are there?”
“Enough to carry whole hoard back in only two trips!”

…

You would get things done a lot faster, but…
“I can’t take care of you all. You realize this?”
“Is fine.”
“Small dragon better than big dragon, anyway! Better protection!”
“Not humble be, great dragon! You strong!”
One of them says nothing, and instead clings to your leg. As you look at her, the one that came out first approaches you and hands you… a shiny rock.
This is ridiculous.
“Don’t you have anywhere better to be than here?”
“No! Not anymore! So we stay with dragon!”
“Yaaaay!” One of the smaller ones says. Looks very similar to the earthy one, just… really small.
“Dragon!” A pink one yells.
“Handsome warmblooded dragon…” The one clinging to your leg says. “Exotic.” It adds.

This might be an issue. You can’t just turn them away, at this point, they have nowhere to go, and they’re not aggressive. It’s not your duty to help them, but…
Well…
“Please let us follow, great dragon? Pleaaaase?”
You groan.
You can’t say no to that face.
Right then.
So you’ve accidentally adopted a klan of kobolts.

You’ve got to get moving soon. The hoard will need to be collected, and you’ll have to slice out the eyes of the dragon as proof of your victory, and to pay for your lodging. There are a few locations that need their stuff returned, and the alchemist’s guild is going to be the best option if you want to give them these dragon eyes. Their golems would, under normal circumstances, also bring the hoard back to its owners, but they ask for a hefty tax.
That said, they’ll happily dissect these little kobolts, given half the chance. The alchemist are not known for their social skills.

Alternatively, you can head to the village of Latriva a short hike from here. Hardly bothered by the dragon, as there was little to steal but produce. An occasional sheep was a fair price to pay for them, compared to paying a mercenary band to slay a dragon. They’ll be happy to offer lodging if you reveal you slew the dragon. Then again, they’re likely to be scared or even outraged by bringing in kobolts, and there is nothing of the hoard you can give them.

Finally, you can just head to the baron’s castle, and leave the hoard to be dealt with by authorities. They'll also have little tolerance for kobolts, though... You’ll just be sleeping on the road, if that’s the case, leaving yourself open to bandits, especially with the loot you have.

Better choose quick, night will fall in only a few hours.

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Okay now that the initial story is out of the way and i can stop screaming at capcha

Welcome, this is my first quest on this platform, so there will be some growing paint as i get used to the formatting and the likes. While there will be an occasional mention of
>powerful kobolt thighs:
this quest is mostly intended to be comfy adventure. Probably. Things often don't go as I plan them when I write.

>>5084913
While the printing press isn't invented, it's mostly because wizards have an enchantment for it. That said, most books are still written in monestaries, for wizards have no sense of right or wrong
If you want an estimate on the tech level, think darkest dungeon, mostly. It's a bit all over the place, so you got classic knights, flintlocks, canned goods, etc, while also having a bit of a helping of magic.
We'll figure it out as we go along.

>>5084916
>Village

>village

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>>5084916
>You’ve got to get moving soon. The hoard will need to be collected, and you’ll have to slice out the eyes of the dragon as proof of your victory, and to pay for your lodging. There are a few locations that need their stuff returned, and the alchemist’s guild is going to be the best option if you want to give them these dragon eyes. Their golems would, under normal circumstances, also bring the hoard back to its owners, but they ask for a hefty tax.
>That said, they’ll happily dissect these little kobolts, given half the chance. The alchemist are not known for their social skills.
Go for the ALCHEMIST GUILD. If they start something, we're putting a bullet in em. Just make the kobolts our squires or pages or something.

I'd also like to rent some of their golems, or outright buy some if we have the funds so we can haul this bad boy back with us. Can we plug up the hole in the dragon's neck? We could probably sell that too. Just how large is this dragon? I think, selling the meat of the dragon would fetch an amazing price for hedonistic nobles with exotic pallets and most Alchemists due to the rarity of dragon meat.
I would also like to make weapons and armor out of the dracon's scales, teeth, claws, talons, and bones. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

>>5084916
>Alchemists
There should be a small enough number of them for you to effectively communicate to all of them that you will not tolerate any harm coming to your wards.
Also make sure the Kobolts understand that they shouldn't steal anything and get them to wear badges or something to mark them as yours

>>5084925
The dragon is about the size of a cottage, meaning 5 meters (16,5 feet) tall if you include the long neck and the head, and four meters (13 feet) if you stop at the neck. Lean as the big lizard is, it stands about 3 meters wide and 9 meters or so in length, with 13 meters if you include the tail.

Dragon meat is almost inedible, sadly. It mostly tastes like motor oil, though the blood makes for a decent fuel. Only "decent", however, there's better stuff out there. As for dragon scales and claws, they're mighty effective at first, but as they dry up they turn more and more brittle. It's still quite good, but not as good as the solid steel armor our knight is wearing.

The alchemists mostly request the eyes due the inherent magic power present in dragons, and they're one of the few creatures in the world that can become capable wizards without going bugnuts crazy.

>>5084933
I know shit all about squires, but maybe we could make them wear badges with the symbol of the order or major noble we serve under.

>>5084934
That is....disapointing, to say the least. Can the blood be drained to make firebombs? Id ask if there were any potential collectors interested in buying a dragon corpse, but I think I know the answer. it's not worth the effort
Was the gold sacrifice ours, or did someone loan all the gold to us?

I think we should go to the alchemists, but make sure they won't touch them. We just need to make sure the kobolds are ours. They're antisocial, but they're probably smart enough not to want to dissect a dragonslayer's belongings.

Writing now!

>>5084942
You can actually make some firebombs out of dragonblood, yes.
Also, the gold is a loan, though it's about 50% pyrite making it not legal tender. A dragon would know the difference, but they need to come close enough to actually take a good look. The "gold" belongs to the alchemist's guild, though they don't care about it. Our knight is, however, too honorable to use counterfeit money. I don't intend to railroad you too hard, but the knight has a very rigid moral compass that might prove hard to work around...Though 90% of the difficulty is for the purpose of comedy.
Also of note, there may be collectors interested in a dragon skeleton, but you don't have the time or magic for that thing to decompose.

>>5084942
While our knight is technically of noble blood, as a wandering knight he calls no order or master his own.
His history is a tad complicated, and i won't go into it further than that until it comes up in the story.

>>5084984
>Also of note, there may be collectors interested in a dragon skeleton, but you don't have the time or magic for that thing to decompose.
Already sold on the idea. We have four kobolt friends. We could alternatively hire some poor people to cut off the majority of the meat so the skeleton is easier to transport. Its unskilled labor that doesnt need much skill besides knowing how to cut, and having the strength to go through literal tons of meat. We provide a wage, people get payed. Everyone wins.

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>>5084925
>>5084933
>>5084976

You elect to go to the alchemist's guild. You gather up the sack of gold you used to lure the dragon out, first, and place it on the cart that the kobolts are already pulling out of the cave. There's about eight of them in total, and you'll need some time to even tell them apart. The pink one is easy enough, and the one with the prisoner's collar as well... but the others, not so much.
As you stand before the dragon's head, you prepare yourself accordingly. Dragon blood is warm to the point of caustic, and it hasn't really been long enough for the body temperature of the dragon to have gone down enough to be safe to handle. Taking out the black iron knife, and putting on some extra durable leather gloves, you steel yourself against the smell and plunge the knife right under the eye, making it bulge in a very unappealing manner, and causing a squirt of blood to further stain your breastplate. You'll be stinking to high heaven for a time, and also far more flammable than what would be advised. But you can't take along two sets of armor when you travel light. The alchemists, if nothing else, will be able to clean your belongings.
Further and further you dig around the eye, and it's here that you suddenly hear the soft "tink-tink" of somebody tapping you on the shoulder. You stop carving, and slowly turn around.
It's one of the kobolts. You think it's the one that was hugging your leg, earlier.

"Hey..."

You stare at her. Your expression impossible to see past the bucket helm you're currently (and always) wearing.
"Hello." You say back.
"Why are your scales so... uniform?"
"These are not scales, it's armor. You knew I was warmblooded, surely you know what humans are?"
"...How is armor so pretty?"

You blink twice. Looking down at your armor, self-consciously, you note that it's really not anything too pretty. It's full plate, with what used to be some cloth over it, though that didn't survive the dragon's blood. The armor is purely functional, without even the slightest hind of aesthetic adjustments. Mixed with the dragon's blood, it's almost ghastly. You look back at the kobolt, and after a few more awkward seconds of her gazing at you (or your armor, perhaps) with eyes the size of teacups, you finally decide the best answer would be to dodge the question entirely and get back to work.
"Careful. You don't want to be hit by a spray of this beast. You could burn yourself."
"My scales are *very* fireproof, you know! It's why the old dragon liked me so much! He could set me on fire all day and I would never complain!"
You make an incision that's perhaps a bit too forceful, and a splash of blood strikes your shoulder... and also the kobolt. It strikes her right on the exposed midriff, though considering she's just wearing rags to cover her unmentionables and little else, it'd be surprising if it didn't hit her scales. She shudders a little, but doesn't comment on the sizzling liquid.
(cont)

>>5084916
>“Handsome warmblooded dragon…” The one clinging to your leg says. “Exotic.” It adds.
I’m not sure if I like where this is going...

>>5085016

"You were set on fire?" You ask, worry tinging your voice. The kobolt girl crosses her arms and sticks her nose (snout?) up proudly.
"Ya-huh! It just burnt my clothes and tingled and stung a little to me! Dragon liked me to hug dead pigs to make the skin more crackly! He liked the crunch."
"But if you were on fire, something was feeding that fire, yes?" You ask, using your limited alchemical knowledge to gather that being on fire is bad.
"Scales grow back and underskin didn't hurt that bad!"

She's still very proud about it.
Hmm.
You wipe off the blood from her using the back of your glove, making her gasp from the sudden touch.
"Stay safe. I don't want you getting hurt."
"But-"
"No buts. Take care of yourself."
Slowly, you see her pupils begin to dilate from your words, and she vibrates a little from excitement. After a little bit, she squeaks out some more words and begins to twirl around on her digitigrade feet, hopping in excitement.
"Dragon likes meeeeee~!"
"I don't really know you, miss."
She gasps again:
"MISS!? WOWIE! NOBODY EVER CALLED ME MISS BEFORE!" She yells with a very loud and very shrill voice, her mouth open wider than any animal you've ever seen. you wince, but then you return to your work of pulling out the eye. You dig under the now loose eye and pop it out in one go, the optic nerve severed, and place it in the reinforced clay jar. You repeat the process now, while the kobolt rushes off to the other kobolts to proudly state she was called "miss" by you. They all seem amazed as well, and you're a bit confused about the matter.

...

Welp. You shrug, and finish off the other eye without any further distractions. By the time you're done, the kobolts have loaded up both carts. Lots of gold and gems, but most of the stuff here is valuable in the different sense. Enchanted alchemy tables, important tomes, weaponry...
It's easy to see why they would want this stuff back. You move towards the cart, and step in front of it, picking up the shafts and preparing yourself to pull this thing across uneven ground, until the kobolts start yelling:
"MASTER!?"
"NO!"
"We pull!"
"We good workers!"
You look to the little kobolts for a moment... and say:
"These cars are very heavy. I thought you would pull the other."
"No no!"
"We pull with four per kart!"
"Kobolt strong!"

The ones that you can tell apart have a more simply syntax, it seems. Well... You think they're insisting, and you still have trouble saying no.
"Very well. Don't hurt yourselves."

They give a squeal that harmonizes, which makes your ears ring as you stumble back... You think you heard some glass crack on the cart from the sound alone. They're... way too excited to help.

On the road you go, then...

Rolled 50 (1d100)

Encounter roll

The trip is mostly uneventful, fortunately. Nothing really bothers you, to the point of it being boring. This means you have some time to get to know your new... wards?
squires?
Servants?

Your new kobolts.

The ones you can tell apart are:
Pink one
Earthy one with the collar
Leg-huggy one
Smaller earthy one

...Though there's about four more that you haven't paid much attention to yet. You wonder what they're like, if you spend the time?

>>5085026
Are we uhh...supposed to choose? Since it's your first time, i'll tell you this anon, people usually put some options on greentext or tell it's the time to choose
>Like this
So anons will know when to vote.

>>5085026
>Spend enough time with them all 1-on-1 to at least tell the difference between them all

As for my vote, i think we should talk with each of them to get to know them better. No use in picking favorites right now.

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>>5085031
wups. Yeah,you were intended to pick, sorry.

>Pink one
>Earthy one with the collar
>Earthy one that's just kinda small
>The leghumper that talked about being on fire earlier
> Just talk to some of the four other 'bolts you haven't spoken to

>>5085026
> Just talk to some of the four other 'bolts you haven't spoken to

Favoritism isn't a good idea; let's get to know em all

>>5085046
>Just talk to some of the four other 'bolts you haven't spoken to

>>5085046
>> Just talk to some of the four other 'bolts you haven't spoken to
we need to get to know our new harem, I mean party members equally

>>5085017
Yes you do bitch

> Just talk to some of the four other 'bolts you haven't spoken to

You elect to look to the other four. They're not as noisy as the other four, which might prove to be an advantage for your nerves. They weren't lying about their ability to pull a cart, though, despite their small size they can handle the overloaded cart with only three at the front, and one at the back to catch any errand piece of gold that might bounce off the wagon. They don't even permit you to help them, basedou don't. This is likely an honor thing, which is something you understand better than most. All the same...
You start with the one at the front. He's notably the only male kobolt in the group, though it's a bit hard to tell at first. He has some slightly wider shoulders and his facial structure is different, though the most recognizeable feature about him is the way he has speckled scales on his snout and that he's missing the tip of his tail.
"So... Hello." You say.
"Salutation, dragon." He says back. His voice is raspy and... almost registers on a lower scale, though kobolts will always have a squeakier voice than that of any human, dwarf or orc. About equal to goblins, you suppose.
"So what is your name?"
"...I have not been granted one, dragon. Our previous master was not one for names." He says. There's something about the way he stares straight ahead compared to the others that gives him a more focused appearance than the others. He's certainly a bit more on the ball than the others. Still, he has no name, apparently? That opens up questions.
"If you have no name, how do people call out to you?"
"Generally by yelling "hey you", or sometimes they call me names. Like Freckles. Or Broken Tail... Or, at one point, Diversity Hire."
"Diversity hire?" You repeat, confused. What kind of insult is that?
"The dragon liked to say he kept me around to say he owns a male kobolt. We are rare, you see. Though not wanted."
"That seems... odd."
"One only needs a singular male to impregnate many females. Hence why so many are eggbearers."
You click your tongue in annoyance: "The odd part is that you are not wanted, sir."

The kobolt blinks.
He blinks again.

"Come again, great dragon?"
"Why do people not want you? You're just as capable as everybody else?"
"I am not as cute." He says, matter of factly, which causes the two kobolts behind him to giggle. They look to be sisters, and while their grey scales make it that they don't stand out, they're still moving remarkably in sync. They both wear some more fanciful blue fabric as a loincloth, compared to the rags of the others. They're almost completely identical, with one odd part about them. Both of them have cataracts in one eye, guessing from the almost glassy look to them, and those same eyes don't seem to dart around at any living thing as much as the others.
"Indeed, freckles!" The one on the left says, after which the one on the right speaks for her.
"But we're more than cute for all three of us!"
Left speaks after that. "So you don't need to worry, little brother!"
The kobolt sighs.
(cont)

You... decide to look at the twins a little more.
"Do you two have names, then?"
"Very much, sir!" Left side says, following up by saying: "I'm Sapphire, and she's Ruby!"
Neither of them are wearing a matching colour.
"Named after precious gems, are you?"
"It's cuz we ARE precious gems!"

Well, they're confident, if nothing else
"Say, you three seem more articulated than the others... why is that?"
"We came from the same nest!" Ruby yells, proudly, letting Sapphire continue.
"Us and him are nest siblings!"
Again, they switch.
"But Sapphire and I came from the same egg!"
"That's why our eye's busto!"
"We came out a bit wrong cuz we were sharing the egg!"

Ah. Interesting...
"Is there a reason you're called Sapphire and Ruby, specifically? And that you're wearing blue cloth?"
"We look good in those gem colours! That's why we're wearing them!"
They are most assuredly not wearing green and red, that's for certain.
"...You're not wearing green or red." You say, slowly and carefully.
Both kobolts stare at you. You think you can see their eyes twitch. Then, slowly, they raise up their loincloth mid-stride, and you are forced to look away out of courtesy as the ladies make themselves... unpresentable.
"But... It says SAPPHIRE right on the cloooooth!?"
"YEAH! I SEWED IT ON MYSELF!"

....What.
You 're still not looking at them, but carefully you ask:
"Did you just sew on the word of the gem? On the same cloth?"
"WHAT!?"
"NO!"
"We are not stupid, great dragon!"
"Yeah!"
"We cut it into two bits first!"
"Or else we'd be stuck together!"
"Yeah!"
"We're very smart, dragon! You'll see!"

Oh dear God they're idiots. You decide to leave them be, for now, and move on the catcher in the back. She's extremely twitchy, and has a sort of feral hunch to her that the others don't have. It might be because she's on the prowl for even the slightest bit of the hoard falling off, but still...
She also wears far more rags than the others, and is even wearing a hood. More catchingly, she also has a small dagger on her ankle.
"And what of you?" You ask. "Do you have a name?"
"Am... Nameless, yes. No name. No talk."
Her english is much less advanced than the others. Apart from her terse way of speaking, she has a rather thick accent you don't recognize...
You wonder if kobolts have their own language.
Well, this one won't explain herself, you'll probably need to ask a few questions... or you could question the others a bit.

>What do you do?
1) Tell the kobolt in rags that she seems different, and request to know if there is a reason as to why
2) Ask it about the dagger
3) Give the male kobolt a name


I need more kobold images, dang it
4) Just get to the guild in silence.

>>5085151
3) Give the male kobolt a name

I'd like to suggest "Chad", short for Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion

Or just Chad

>>5085144
Kill Diversity Hire, there’s not enough for two us in this har- party.

>>5085154
Sure, he's cool
>>5085155
No need for violence. He seems nice, there's no reason to believe he'd touch whatever waifu we pick. Because we sure as hell ain't touching the bimbo twins.

oh no the twins are worthless...

>>5085154
Yes He will become our son.

>>5085154
Yes and we shall raise him to become the greatest Kobold Knight in the realm.

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>>5085154
>>5085159
>>5085176
>>5085186

Clearly, you should look after the kobolt with no name. He seems like he could use a little boost of confidence compared to the rest... or maybe just something to get him out of a depressive mood. Compared to the other kobolds, he's downright dour. You don't know him enough to make much of a judgement, you suppose, but still.
You walk towards the nameless kobolt, and ask him this:
"Would you like to have a name? I can give you one if you so desire."
The kobolt stops, causing the twins to bump into him and the cart to almost topple over... though with some quick movement, you manage to catch it with one arm and tip it back on its wheels. Damn, this really is overloaded. The twins are yelling at the currently nameless kobolt, but he's still just staring at you in shock.
"Y-you would... d-do... that? For me? For the.. But... why?"
"You seem to value names, and it's clear this is important to you." You say, plain and simple. "I like you well enough, you're polite and kind from what I can tell."

The twins scoff in the back: "Yeah, whenever he isn't being a total geed!"
"What does that even mean?" You ask back, and they both... stop. And think.
"Uhhh, I think it means he's like... you know. A dork."
"A loser?"
"Nooo, it means he's not super good at talking to people, like a total geed!"
"Yeah!"
"You should call him Geed, great dragon!" They say in unison. You... are losing patience, but you decide to be the bigger man, which is incredibly easy in present company. The pink one is the tallest here, and she only barely comes up to your chest.
"Young man? What do you say?"

He looks down, uncertain, and then says:
"I would... like not to be called Geed, if you will."
He wrings his hands together nervously as he grinds his teeth, waiting for you to give him a name.

Oh, right, you should probably think of one:

1) Chad (Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion)
2) Diamond
3) Roland
4) Rook
5) Brian
6) Let him choose
7) Thread decides

>>5085210

and proclaim him your son

>Chad (Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion)

1) Chad (Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion)
kinda weird how there is only one option

>>5085210
1) Chad (Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion)

Today we create a chad

>>5085210
Rook actually sounds like a cool name.

>>5085210
Honestly, i like the name Rook.

>>5085210
>6) Let him choose

>>5085017
You lie nigga

>>5085151
>Both of them have cataracts in one eye, guessing from the almost glassy look to them, and those same eyes don't seem to dart around at any living thing as much as the others.
Note to self: feed them books and possibly check if they're color blind.

>>5085210
>1) Chad (Chaddeus Maximinus Longinius Quintinius Augustus Caesarion)
As a suggestion, but
6) Let him choose

>>5085210
Could we come back to drain the dragon's blood, or has that time already came and passed? Maybe next time we can drain the next derg?

"Well... How about Chad? Short for Chaddeus."
The kobold looks at you as though you were a god, mouth agape and eyes wide... then, slowly, he begins to breathe faster, and while there is a clear toothy smile present, he's clearly overwhelmed with emotions over getting a real name.
You... Take maybe a little step back, but you can't stop the little scaly friend from hopping out of position (causing the sisters to groan again) and hugging your legs tightly.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you, great dragon, thank you! Y-You're the BEST! The BEST EVER!"
"It's... just a name, friend."
"I AM THE DRAGON'S FRIEND!?"

...You've known them all for all of half an hour, and you might have accidentally gotten them attached to you. This is perhaps an issue, down the line, but for now... well. It never hurts to be kind.
"I-I I'VE NEVER HAD ALL THIS Buh-BEFORE!"
"Yes... yes.... Do calm down." You say, softly patting the kobolt on the back as you begin to dislodge yourself from the hug. Then, he takes a hop back, and gives a quick half-bow before hopping back into position for the cart and pulling once more, with gusto.
He's gone from staring ahead in a dour manner to grinning like a fool... though there's still a sort of intensity to him. Well... That was quite the reaction. Also of note is how excitedly he works, now, the pace is picked up by quite a bit. The kobolts weren't exactly slow, before, but now it's almost a run.
Nothing you can't handle, but when you see the guild building in the distance, the other kobolts are panting and groaning. Chad is still going strong, though he can't hide the fact that he's a bit winded. You also note that it's only about an hour from sundown, which is pretty good time, overall.

Excellent.

The alchemist's guild is a rather secluded location, mostly to avoid any accidents from befalling the local villages. While alchemists are generally asked to not try out anything on the local population, they have this tendency not to care. Combine that with them being the prime source of money for most lands, and you've got an essentially untouchable organisation.
Fortunately, these ones aren't all bad. Possibly because, if they were a problem for society at large...
You'd put every last one of them to the sword and burn their wretched building to the ground. As is your duty. People should not mistake compassion for weakness, as your master always said.

As you approach the gates of the guild village, merely a selection of buildings for the students and masters to sleep in between experiments, you see their guard. Singular.
(Cont)

File: iron golem.jpg (2.02 MB, 3143x4123)

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This particular guild prefers to use a singular but very powerful golem to serve as deterrent. They undoubtedly have many other creatures inside, but the gigantic iron golem serves to guard their walls from any sort of enemy. With good reason, of course, the only thing that could hope to defeat something like this, excepting magic, would be a volley of cannon shots.
The kobolts, however, look at the creature nearly three times your size, and they shrink away when they see it turning its head towards them.
"I-It's so BIG!"
"Look at that axe!"
"G-great dragon!? Y-you could... you could defeat it, yes?" The pink one asks. You shrug:
"Not as I am now. I'd have to prepare. The best way to deal with this creature is to find the animus and destroy it... It would likely be inside the building itself."
"Animus? What is?" The hooded one asks. You... don't quite have the knowledge or time to get into alchemy much, so you sum it up as best you can:
"An Animus is what powers this thing. It can't move from nothing, so it needs something to feed it. Usually it's something enchanted, sometimes it's an engine. I wouldn't know more than that, however."
The kobolts go from fearfully shying away to staring at the gigantic golem, especially as it stomps towards your group. A booming voice echoes out from the hole in its torso:

"SER REYNAULD! YOU HAVE RETURNED WITH 4 [ALCHEMY TABLES], 2 BAGS OF [LIQUID MYTHRIL],8 BAGS OF [MISCELLANIOUS INGREDIENTS] AND THE LOANED BAG OF [FOOL'S GOLD]. THIS IS THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT WAS STOLEN FROM THE ALCHEMY GUILD OF LATRAVANIA.
ALERT. THERE ARE ENEMIES NEARBY.
PLEASE MAKE WAY.
REQUEST FOR [ENEMY SCUM]: DIE"
It begins to walk towards you with purpose, raising it's gigantic axe already. It's slow and lumbering, but that's also part of the intimidation. They can be damned fast if they need to be.

You shout up at it, not missing a beat... though you have to give the kobolts credit for getting into a combat position instead of running away. That said, you don't think one dinky dagger and tiny scaly fists would have been terribly effective against the iron golem.
"They are with me! They're harmless!"
"ACKNOWLEDGED!" The giant bellows back. "PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE HALL OF COSTS TO RETURN THE STOLEN GOODS. THERE IS A BOUNTY OF [120 GOLD] PER KOBOLT CORPUS.
BY ENTERING THIS GATE, YOU ARE HEREBY LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL INFRACTIONS DONE UPON THE GUILD BY BOTH YOU AND YOUR LIVING CARGO.
HAVE A NICE DAY!"

You never did like dealing with golems, much, but the creature grabs the equally huge chain attached to the gate, and pulls it right open with nothing but a singular pull. Another display of might, to dissuade any would-by troublemakers.

...You'll need to find a way to properly look after these kobolts. You don't know what they'll do inside a guild, and kobolts are known to pilfer objects for their dragon... not to mention, the alchemists themselves are rather interested into gathering up test subjects.

1) Find a way to mark them, somehow. You have some oil for your lantern around, maybe marking them that way is enough to prevent issue?

2) Keep them close and just keep a good eye on them. This is just relying on your senses to keep track of all eight of them

3) Tell them to wait outside as you deal with this.

4) Other

>>5085321
4) gather your Kobolds together, explain that they are not to steal attack, or otherwise act in a way that would damage our standing with the guild, after all, they wish to serve under us, and as their dragon, this is what we command, if they behave they will be rewarded with a shiny for each of them. make chad the baby sitter for the rest he seems to be the most level head of the lot

>>5085325
>Mark them
>Keep them close
We should do both. We need to make sure that they're recognized as ours from the start, but also to make sure no one will do anything to them.

>>5085321
2) Keep them close and just keep a good eye on them. This is just relying on your senses to keep track of all eight of them
4) Other
Tell them not to steal anything. The people inside have reasons to try and kill all the kobolds for their parts.

>>5085335
This and mark them to make sure they don't get mixed up with the other kobolds

>>5085325
> 3) Tell them to wait outside as you deal with this.

>2 and 4 as others reasoned

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"Gather round, everybody. This city is our current destination. They will take care of the old dragon's loot and bring it back to their owners. However... I'm afraid they might see you as part of the loot."
"But we ARE part of the loot!" Sapphire says, to which Ruby enthusiastically nods. The Pink one swats Ruby over the back of the head, while Chad... just kind of glares at the other one. Not quite willing to get physical, you suppose.
"We are not part of THEIR loot. The dragon wishes to grant these spoils back to its owners... even though it's totally his, by right." Pink explains... and she gives you a meaningful look as she explains that the stuff should be yours. You don't even justify it with a response.
"We, however, are special! He wants to keep us!"
"I intend to..." Just as you're about to say that you don't intend to keep them, however, you look at all sixteen eyes upon you, clearly expecting to hear that you're NOT sending them away. You...
They...
They'd be really, really upset if you said that. And they're really just innocent little things, aren't they? You... dodge the statement
"..find you a good home." You say. You just don't have the heart to say anything else.
"YAAAAY!" They yell, harmonizing once more.

"CLASS 1 AUDIO ATTACK DETECTED. PROBABILITY OF MISSION HINDRANCE... ZERO PERCENT!" The Iron Golem says in response, while you resist the urge to huff from the pain that noise made. It's... Not going to get easier.
At any rate, you take out your oil, and gather the kobolts together. You take Chad as the first to paint, using his forehead to to draw eight arrows in a circle. You explain to them why you picked that symbol as you draw it with your fingers.
"This is the mark of chaos. It does not represent me, but it does represent that which the alchemists cannot permit. It's... the best I can think of to indicate that you are not to be dissected."
"Ohh. Getting dissected again bad." The collared one says.

Wait.

"Again?" You ask her, and she shrugs:
"wizard once use me for parts, until dragon flew big tower. He took the loot and me! Much better life now!"
...you must do everything you can to keep these creatures out of the hands of alchemists and wizards, that much is clear.
You finish drawing the marks of chaos on their faces, and now you step into the city. You also tell all of them to stay close and in your sights.
Once you're inside, you are amused by how dazzled the kobolts are by a perfectly clean street... Especially when they see the cleaning golems responsible for such an undertaking. Creatures made of soap and water, gliding across the cobblestone sidewalk, and the solid streets. The street itself is also pleasant to their bare feet, guessing from how they take turns pulling the carts to hop up and down on the material. You don't see the appeal. There is a bit of give to it, and your armor squeaks terribly when you slide it across it. The alchemists are quite proud of it, though you still prefer stone.
(cont)

The streets are utterly deserted, for now, but that changes as you approach that place of logic. More and more students appear, garbed in cloaks and most wearing masks. It seems to indicate what specific part of alchemy they follow. Bird masks indicate medicine and plagues, blank masks indicate transmutation, demon masks show the person's aptitude lies in Mana...
You know all that because you had the misfortune of being given a guide when you arrived here the first time, who explained everything except the reason you were called here. You certainly felt more learned by the end of it, but mostly just frustrated. You could have stopped the tour at any time but...
The guide was just so fired up about being able to explain it all that you couldn't tell him to stop. Even if you hated it.
You really need to learn how to say no...

The students all stare at your kobolts, some of them rubbing their hands together, especially the ones belonging to biological transmutation. Though, fortunately, some of them seem to go away when they notice the chaos mark.
Others are even more interested, though you wave them off whenever they get too close. The fact you're generally about twice their size is a help, though the kobolts are easily tempted. You had to physically grab the smallest one from being lured away with the promise of candy... and you had to grab the twins when somebody waved some jerky at them.
Chad, fortunately, is also a fast learner, and he takes care of anybody you can't quite grab... after you gave him the order to do so. The kobolt in rags, despite the suspicious disposition, was lured in by meat, similar to the twins... but Chad just had to yell to get her to return into formation.
Then, finally, you come before the Hall of Costs. Their bank, storage, and mayor's office, all in one. Nothing is more important than reagents to these people, so whoever hold those is the most important part of the city.
The simple, artificial housing disappears entirely as you enter the hall, and the large singular road splits apart into dozens of smaller ones. The walls are laid with solid brickwork, coloured into a faint silvery sheen. It's worthless, but pretty. A meat golem is there to greet you.
A seven foot tall homunculus stands there, apparently imitating the shape of a wellbuilt woman in fine clothes. It takes the eye of a hunter to see the clothing is in fact its skin.
"...Ser Reynauld. Follow me to Asset reacquisition, please." It says... without moving its lips. The sound seemed to come from inside her belly.

The trip will take a bit
(cont)

"Gotta... get... the shinnyyyyyyyy" the Pink kobolt whispers, as she suddenly leaps away and starts scratching at an imperfection of the wall, using her little claws to get the misshapen little lump of silver paint and stone into her palms.
She couldn't break it loose, fortunately, but she actually struggles as you grab her around the waist, desperate to get at the shiny bit.
"DRAGON, NO! GOTTA GET THE SHINIES! FOR DRAGON! SHINY SHINY SHINY!"
You end up having to carry her under your arm as you continue through these silver-covered halls.

It takes longer than you'd expect, the carts barely fit on the thin road, but you finally arrive at a large storageroom... with a rather corpulent man behind a desk.
The desk has been enlarged to fit his frame, making him appear even more huge. Mixed together with his complete lack of hair and high collar, and he looks like a particularly fanciful thumb.
"Ahhhh... Reynauld! What a delight to find you here... And, with the requested items!"
While the man comes off as a slimeball in the way he talks, you found that he's surprisingly professional in his actions.
"Very good... I'll make sure to get you your preferred sleeping quarters, and your equipment will be cleaned and repaired to the best of this fine establishment's abilities... Ahh, but I see you have brought kobolts as well?"
The man leans forward, making his chair creak dangerously.
"...You do not strike me as a man to offer living reagents. Especially not for monetary rewards. Of course, the call of coin is... powerful, no?"
"Indeed. I... They had no place to go, so they came to me. I could not refuse them."
"Ahhhh, but you are such a compassionate man, are you not?" He says, mockingly. He chuckles, and raises his hand.
"My apologies, ser... You make for such an easy joke! Now... I'll assume you wish to grant these creatures lodging as well?"
"If at all possible, yes." You say, which makes some of the kobolts start celebrating with eachother, holding hands and hopping up and down at the thought of being looked after so personally.
"And... that will be all, I assume? Are you certain you wish to take no reward?"
"Gear, food, and enough coin to afford travelling supplies, as per usual."

The fat man sniffs.
"We won't stop you from being underpaid, if you insist."
He sniffs again, then, raising an eyebrow. At least, you think he's raising an eyebrow, hard to tell without any hair to help indicate it.
"Say... I smell something."
"The dragon blood is turning rancid, I'm assuming?" You wager a guess.
"Hmmm. No. I've lost my sense of smell years ago, Ser... So if I can still smell it, it must be... magical."

...

You draw your sword, and look around, carefully. The kobolts seem incredibly confused, but they all form a circle around you, ready to protect you. Foolish notion, but flattering.

"No... no... Ahhhh. Oh dear." The fat man says. He's taken out some sort of compass, from the looks of things he's not liking what he sees.
"It's you." He says.
(cont)

You?

What?

"What are you implying?" You say, perhaps with too much venom in your voice, but the archivist is quick to play it diplomatically:
"Oh, ser knight, no need for anger. You are not the source of magic, I fear you may have been... cursed."
"Cursed?"
"The dragon you slew must have been a more capable wizard than expected, if he spent his dying breath on a curse. One moment... I'll scan you, as part of your payment, you understand."
He takes out a candle and a strange box. Using a little box that just seems to produce flame (a "lighter", they called it?), he lights it, places it inside the seemingly cardboard box, and he closes it. Light peers out through a tiny hole, and he makes it shine upon you for a moment... After which the box explodes with a little puff, and a spirit made of smoke appears.
Then it starts whispering into the fat man's ear.

"...I see. Well,that's a pickle." He says, talking to the spirit and leaving you out of it.
The kobolts all seem rather worried, and one of them (Pink, of course) is currently taking the free mints that are besides the desk. She takes three of them at once, and wheezes with discomfort as she coughs up snow.
They're pretty serious mints.
The whispering continues for far too long, and when you lean forward on the desk you-
Oh my god this is mahogany wood. You stop leaning on the desk, and hope you didn't stain the wood with the remnants of the dragon blood still on you. All the same, fatty seems to understand that you're running out of patience.
"Ah, well, uh... it's all rather complicated, ser. You see, uh, the dragon seems to have decided to turn you into, uh, what you hate most. It thought."

You blink.
You blink again.

"It assumed you were a professional dragonslayer, and hence... you've been cursed to turn into a dragon. Eventually. Such a curse takes a long time to complete, so you have time to find an archmage to cure yourself. Probably."

....You don't know how to react to this. You're going to have to...

"Well, I'll just cut to the chase, shall I? You shall rest here for three days as we get your gear in order. Then, you will have to head to Isaac's Rest from here, to find archmage Ogg."
"That's almost two weeks of travel! Do I have that time?"
"Perhaps. Pray that you do, ser knight. There is no sane wizard closer than Isaac's Rest. You'll need your gear in tip-top shape. And, if the worst comes to pass... I suppose you already have your little horde."

...

What do you do?
1) Fuck waiting, you leave NOW. You can't afford to waste time on gear if you're going to turn into some evil lizard some time from now!?

2) Get your gear in order, first. You'll be able to save time in the long run if you have well-maintained gear, probably.

3) Questions. You must have questions. Which questions do you ask?

>>5085541
What does turning into a dragon even mean?
Is it only a physical change, or is the psychological realm also affected?
What are the symptoms?
How does the curse progress?
Is it reversible? If not always, when does it become irreversible?

>>5085541
Being a dragon is probably fine, it should make being a knight easier. Big enough to carry supplies, flying is a no go. Flying is scary.

>>5085559
>What does turning into a dragon even mean?
>Is it only a physical change, or is the psychological realm also affected?
>What are the symptoms?
>How does the curse progress?
These. I'm mostly worried about becoming Greedy like a dragon.

>>5085559
>3) Questions. You must have questions. Which questions do you ask?
>>5085559
let's ask these before we make a call on waiting or going

>>5085571
seems a bit out of character for a human IMO, that and finding an acrh mage might let up have the option to shift between a dragon form and human form or something. finally dragon hunters are a thing

>>5085541
>Fuck waiting, you leave NOW. You can't afford to waste time on gear if you're going to turn into some evil lizard some time from now!?

Sounds like our knight isn’t too fond of dragons so it’s be pretty in character to rush this.

Just a heads-up, I'll be going to bed so don't expect an update for a bit. I'll answer some questions now, though, though i'll put them in-story afterwards as well.

>What does turning into a dragon even mean?
You literally turn into a big, firebreathing lizard.
>Is it only a physical change, or is the psychological realm also affected?
That is impossible to determine at this point, but guessing from the fact magic is involved, there's a rather high chance
>What are the symptoms?
The things you'd expect. Scales, sharper teeth, maybe some increased heat resistance, swelling... It's a slow-acting curse, but thephysical changes are bound to be the obvious. From human, to human with dragon features, to draconic humanoid and then, presumably, dragon.
>How does the curse progress?
Slowly and as stated above, *probably*
>Is it reversible? If not always, when does it become irreversible?
We don't know, but you'd be best off at least trying to get yourself de-cursed. Even if it is not reversible, if you're quick you can end up with little more than some scales and a higher tolerance for spicy foods.

>>5085576
Can't see why it would be out of character. It will certainly be an experience.

>>5085580
Is there a way to halt the mental changes?

>>5085580
Well then, going for a 2 week trip on almost disintegrated gear would be suicide, but waiting 3 days for our gear to be repaired is also bullshit.
I think a reasonable compromise would be to rest for the night, only get the essentials repaired on a day, buy replacements for the stuff that is missing, stock up and go.
Also we should lock up the room for the kobolts so they don’t do any mischief while we are asleep.

>>5085594
+1

We can't become a dragon, that'd ruin the fun of being a human with a kobold clan!

>>5085594
Backing this.

>>5085541
>2) Get your gear in order, first. You'll be able to save time in the long run if you have well-maintained gear, probably.
Can't risk everything falling apart
Question What exactly does turning into a dragon entail?

>>5085633
See >>5085580

>>5085594
I think this is good, but if you're looking to get maximum combat effectiveness in the shortest period of time then in addition to repairing the essentials of our gear we should also (such as we can afford, perhaps as part of our payment) outfit our kobolts. They are currently willing to defend or serve us, but unable to do so. It's a tragedy, really.

>>5085541
> 2) Get your gear in order, first. You'll be able to save time in the long run if you have well-maintained gear, probably.

>>5085541
>Get your gear in order, first. You'll be able to save time in the long run if you have well-maintained gear, probably.
>See about a quicker mode of transportation, you could get the kobolds help to move a carriage in shifts or something.

>>5085541
I for one am excited about what terrible things will happen when we begin turning into a dragon. Will we crave the flesh of man? Be filled with an unstable avarice? Be a shitty fucking fat couch potato who has to be rolled around to move?

I think we should find some halfling sized armor bits and weapons for our bolds, and ask the collared one if she would like her restraints removed.
I hope we're a fluffy dragon

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Sped up repairs (and buying whatever you lack) it is.
Also you'll ask if there's anything to spare for the kobolts

Writing now

>>5085541
>2) Get your gear in order, first. You'll be able to save time in the long run if you have well-maintained gear, probably.
and
>Take a full prize you have kobolds to take careof and cloth

We can cut travel to 3 or 4 days if we have kobolds pull cart whole day and thru the night so we should be good on time

You feel a cold sweat breaking out as you try to keep calm. Okay.
A curse.
You can deal.

"I have SEVERAL questions."
"Go ahead and ask, my little wisp here is available for quite a few."
"Okay,okay.... Uhh.... What does this even... even mean?"
"You'll turn into a big firebreathing lizard. As stated, a dragon... Though, I suppose there's a big chance you'll have access to magic, as well."
Bollocks, you think. Okay, maybe this isn't too bad. Maybe...
"Is it... only physical? Will I keep my mind or will I be reduced to some... animal?" You can't help but let fear creep into your voice. The towering fat bald bastard leans towards the wisp whispering in his ear, and then shrugs. A mountainous undertaking with all that flab, and one of the kobolt's eyes dilate as she gazes upon the gigantic flesh lava lamp. "Ohhh.... Cooooooool" It says.
After a bit more time, enough for you to get slightly more nervous, you get the answer:
"Well... as stated, magic power is bound to flow into you. While the physical changes are likely going to be the most dramatic and visible... psychological changes are likely to follow. We know what mana does to brains, don't we?"

Okay.
Now is the time to perhaps panic a little bit. If you weren't trained to suppress such feelings, you might have done that and wailed. Instead, you limit yourself to a very manly squeak of fear. Like a door that needs some oiling.
"Okay, is there a way to halt the... m-mental changes? At least?"
"Perhaps meditation, ser knight? I wouldn't know, and neither does my wisp. You'd be best off asking the archmage."
"Bollocks. What are the symptoms, do you know that?"
"Ahhh, well... What would you expect? Some scales here, some sharper teeth there. Likely some resistance to tempertures. Swelling, obviously. Though, I suppose, it's likely to be muscle mass. Physical changes are likely going to be human, to human with some draconic parts. Then dragon-looking beastman onto dragon, most likely."
"How does it progress?"
"Slowly... and across the whole body. You can expect the eyes to change first, I suppose, and then along the spine. From there, who knows? Certainly not this wisp."
Your heart is beating slowly yet... thunderously.

"Can it be reversed?"
"The wisp doesn't know, and neither do I? Well, if you hurry, you'll just end up with some more scales and a higher tolerance for spicy foods, if it isn't?"
"But I don't want even that!"
"Then you'd better hurry, no? Shall you get your gear in order, first?"
"...I need to get that done faster than three days. Clean it, fix up the sword with that... product of yours."
"Epoxy."
"I don't care what you call your glue! I'm retiring to the room.... and tomorrow I'll be buying whatever gear isn't fixed."
"Ah, I assume you'll be taking your full reward then?"

As much as it goes against your usual modus operandi... this is very important.
"Yes. The whole thing... and I'll want to have some gear for the kobolts."
(cont)

>>5086074
>full reward
Can I get additional context? I hope we're not selling any of our bold frens.

The fat man chuckles, as he looks at the two kobolts that are staring up at him. As soon as his gaze falls upon them, however, they ask him questions:
"Did man devour entire other man?" the collared one asks
"How are you so big but still so soft?" Pink asks
"DO THE JIGGLY THING AGAIN!" The twins demand.
You palm your face, or in this case your helmet. The clang echoes through the room.
"Yes. I do intend to keep them useful."
"Well, certainly. We've always got a few... kitchen knives available. Some leather straps, the works."
"Can I hire a wagon?" You also ask. That would speed up your travel time considerably. But...
"A wagon? Ser knight, repairing your gear and arming your kobolts is expensive by itself, but even your full reward would not grant you a carriage! It wouldn't be enough to afford the golem that would pull it!"

The earthy kobolts yell out.
"Kobolts can pull!"
"Kobolts strong!"
You can tell the fat man is trying to hold in his laughter. He's not very good at it, his thumb-like head turns increasingly red and his cheeks jiggle from holding the corners of his mouth down.
"Very well... I'll be expecting it at the ready outside of my room, alright?"
"Will you be keeping the kobolts in a separate room?"
"I'll need to keep costs down, so no. Bring in some matresses or pillows."
"Kobolts can sleep on the floor!" Chad says.
"Is fine!" The tiny one adds.
"Shut uuuuuuuuup." Pink asks of them.
Seems she likes a little comfort more than the others.

The fat man stops trying to hold in his laugh, and he giggles in a higher pitch than you expected.
"Aren't they just the cutest little things? Very well, Ser Reynauld. I'll send over the request. We'll be taking your arms and armor... Any preferences for what your little... things would use as their equipment?"

Hmm. You only have a limited amount of gold. You'll have to buy at least two pistols to be back at full strength, too, which eats into the money as well.

>Iron armor plates for half of them, and daggers for all.
It's expensive to arm them up like that, to the point that with the exorbitant prices they have on their metals here you can't even arm them all up. Even with the cheapest option.

>Leather armor for all of them, daggers for all
Notably more budget-friendly, but the armor design means it's still expensive. So, the weaponry remains limited.

>Leather guards, any medium weapon (swords, morning stars, small spears, etc.)
Enough to keep their vitals and limbs in order, but with big obvious pieces of exposed scales. Any skilled opponent will aim for that, but these guards are enough to keep them safe all the same. Leaves you with enough money to splurge on weaponry

>Cloth and enhanced weaponry
You just get them clothed so they're not running around in rags all the time. They've got.... far too much exposed skin. It'll allow you give them weapons that were enhanced by some alchemical processes, making them sharper and more durable than before.

>Something wacky the QM didn't think of.

>>5086087
The knight usually doesn't take more than the bare minimum of his rewards (meaning a gear fixup and some food). Taking the full reward means he has the money for his current options.

>>5086089
>Leather armor for all of them, daggers for all
I dont think the kobolts would even have the mass or strength to wield some of the bigger weapons, and armoring only half of them would be kinda discriminatory.

>>5086097
Hold on, IIRC gambeson is cheaper than leather and gives better protection against cuts, bruises and arrows.

>>5086089
>Cloth, leather guards, and shields
Shields are always the most cost-effective. Least material, no need for fitting, etc.

>Daggers for all
Ideally they use the daggers for some crafts, not just combat.

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>>5086089
>Something wacky the QM didn't think of.
Instead of outright buying stuff for them immediately, we should ask Chaddeus and the cloaked Kobold what they think everyone might need. Do any of them know how to use a weapon beyond knives, or their own claws?
Can we also request a whetstone if we don't already have one? It'll be good practice to teach them how wield their weapons in the morning, or tonight.

This too >>5086097 sort of. I think giving them all leather armor fits them well. less metal to make noise, in addition to their lower stature with allow them to sneak and backstab when and if needed.

>>5086098
THIS!

>>5086099
This too? We'll have to outfit the kobolds with bucklers considering how small they are too us. A buckler might as well be a normal shield to them, and a normal human sized dagger would probably be like a short-sword in the hand of a bold.

>>5086090
How expensive are shortbows and faggots of arrows?

>>5086106
>Kobolt
>Pulling anything more than a 50lb shortbow
I don’t think so. Also bows require training to use.

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>>5086109
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWtoLSk_11k
Fair enough. I don't know much about bows and I assumed a short bow meant that it required less draw strength to use. Maybe one of the kobolts know how to use a bow.

>>5086106
On par with a medium weapon if you pick a shortbow for their size, and if you want to give them crossbows it's on par with an enhanced weapon.

>>5086099
Shields are, indeed, quite inexpensive. Still expensive enough to be about half a medium weapon (meaning you can only get them daggers if you pick it, unless you don't armor them up) That said, you could just go out and make them yourself, if you're fine with doing some woodworking.

>>5086101
Chad has some very minor experience with a sword, which mostly just amounts to "held it and swung it a few times". The twins know how to use slings, and the hooded kobolt and pink really know they way around a dagger. The rest don't know how to use weapons outside of their fists and feet.

>>5086113
Naw bro. “Short” just refers to the length of the bow, and while it is easier and cheaper to make a 150lbs longbow, it is 100% possible to make a 150lbs shortbow.
100lbs is the minimum for a “warbow” anything less is considered underpowered for warfare.

>>5086089
>Cloth and enhanced weaponry

Cobolds have natural armor we should make use of that fact and get higher quality weapons for them from the guild.

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>>5086117
F. Well going off of Spine a barely kobolt equipable 100lb warbow is gonna be off the menu.

>>5086116
What about gamberson bro? Is it still cheaper? Because I'm going to change my vote to this.
>Gamberson armor for all of them because it's cheap and effective, daggers for all, slings for all, a whetstone if we don't have any to sharper their daggers. Maybe buy some bucklers with remaining funds.
Slings are cheap to acquire, and can be effective. Like the story of David and Goliath.

>>5086118
Scales don't instantly transfer to being durable enough to tolerate blows from a sword or a kick as far as I can tell.

>>5086116
Alright, I just want shields, cloth and SOME armor. Daggers will do for weapons.

>>5086116
>>5086121
Well i mean the twins could hunt some small game with the slingshots if we run out of food, but unless there is large game with bird bones that isn’t going to be very useful.
And yeah maybe if you hit a guy on the head that’s going to stun it, but unless we’re throwing around explosives that isn’t going to kill anyone.

>>5086116
>>5086123
So.....you want shields (going out to do some woodworking to make our own), clothes, and armor (gamberson is cheaper and more effective than leather as other anon said)?

>>5086124
Ideally the twins could distract and stun larger foes as they nimbly dodge around them, maybe even killing someone with a lucky blow, while giving us openings to deal the killing blows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uDtrwNY0Zk

>>5086125
Seems alright to me.

>>5086125
I don't think the woodworking is strictly necessary, but yeah.

>>5086125
>going out to do some woodworking to make our own

With what tools and time?

>>5086129
Oh you're right.
>Leather guards, any medium weapon (swords, morning stars, small spears, etc.)
We'd be able to outfit all of them with leather guards- wait fuck only guards, not actual leather armor. Uh...wait fuck I can't brain right now.
So you only want "some armor," which amounts to leather guards instead of a full armor set, but would still afford us bucklers and daggers? Uh.

God I hope gamberson is cheap enough to get a full gamberson set in exchange for leather guards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uWDCDJD_4w

>>5086134
Miss read lJ89x5Sp 's post and originally thought we couldn't get shields, clothes, and armor since it would be over our budget for our knee high friends.

>With what tools and time?
Dunno, QM said we could just go out and do it ourselves, so that might mean we have the tools and some know how?

>>5086121
>Scales don't instantly transfer to being durable enough to tolerate blows from a sword or a kick as far as I can tell.

>Regenerated after dragon fire breath
>Fully healed after crazy mage experiments

They are sturdy and have good healing. Higher quality weapons we can't get somewhere else are more important then armor we can get in every town. Get then higher quality shields, daggers and sword and then simply buy them shitty armor if you think they need it so much.

>>5086140
Only one of eight kobolts, but you bring up an interesting point. The pink one has an interesting mutation and I question how durable she is. If her scales are as good as armor (with some proof) then she could forgo armor in exchange for cloth and an enhanced dagger, since that's the weapon she's most proficient with.
But I still think the others need armor.

>>5086144
Other way around. If the scales are good, then she only needs guards for the unscaled portions and vitals. Clothes would just get repeatedly wrecked.

>>5086144
I mean if you want armor go for the plate then and have half of them run away when the fight starts. If you getting them armor I expect you planning on having them fight and tanking hits. If that is the plan getting them plates would be far better choice.

>>5086152
imo having them run away from a fight comes with its own ups and downs. Gotta find where they went, or maybe there's more hostiles around so they can't effectively flee, or they climb up trees faster since they're wearing very little. The armor's there to protect them from blunt trauma and glancing blows in case things go very sideways. Plus, I have my doubts of any of them running for long periods of time in iron armor plates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigandine
I wonder if we can afford to pair some brigandine with some ganberson.

>>5086162
>I have my doubts of any of them running for long periods of time in iron armor plates
Idea would be that the one in armor wouldn't run away but fight

Grab: 4 plates 4 daggers, 4 set of clothes and enough material for 4 slings. That way we have 4 melee and 4 range oriented kobolds. We can make clubs and crude spears on a rode for anyone that dose't have a weapon.

>>5086166
>Iron armor plates for half of them, and daggers for all.
Your solution is to trade four of those daggers for slings and clothes? Sounds very doable. I don't like it, but it's a feasible option.

>>5086162
brigandine is one of the most expensive things we could buy

>>5086089
>>Leather armor for all of them, daggers for all
It offers then good protection while still leaving us with weapon options

How about this:
We give gambeson to all of them, a small sword to Chad, slingshots for the twins, and daggers for the rest.

>>5086232
i like it support

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You have your woodcutting axe available, and a knife that can carve dragons will work out just as well on wood. So if you hunker down for the night, you can take the time to work on that. You'll need firewood, anyhow.

You're also pretty much set on trying to give your kobolts a gambeson instead of the full-on armor... Though it's not quite as complete as the full armor set would be. Nobody makes kobolt-sized gambesons, especially here, so they'll cut up some that they have lying around. It means it's about on par with leather guards, albeit thicker and more protective, but their limbs are still possible to hit. It's a bit of a trade-off, and you're still spending a bit more money than plain guards. You can still arm some of them with some decent weaponry, but it looks like at least half will have to make do with daggers. It's a fine enough trade, especially because they'll still all be protected. And likely more protected than with the plain guards.

With the gambeson set in stone, you can look into weaponry. The twins just need a sling, which is cheap enough to buy that you can get a matching set for both at the price of a dagger, but if you want to buy some iron bullets for them as well, it'll cost you almost as much as a medium weapon. They don't need the bullets, but they're obviously even more effective than plain rocks.
Anybody who underestimates the power of a sling has not faced them. While your armor would likely protect against it, your helmet would dent on a bad hit.

Still, you have some extras.

How are you arming them? Four of them can get a medium-sized weapon. Giving a straight sword to Chad would leave him with, essentially, a bastard sword. Relative to his size, at any rate.
Short-sword would put it on par with a straight-sword, though you believe he had experience with the straight-sword.
M-meaning the bastard one, adjusted for kobolt scale.
Damn, this is confusing.

That still leaves three kobolts that can have something a little fancier. Two if you buy bullets for the twins.
A nice hatchet is multi-purpose, if you can't decide. Weighty enough to use as a hammer, sharp enough for other things, short enough that a kobolt can make easy use of it. Plenty of peasant uprisings used that sort of thing.

Or stick to daggers and pocket the change for later. Who knows?

>Give three other kobolts some proper weaponry of choice

>pocket the change for later, leave everybody but chad & the twins with daggers

>Fuck it, no weapons, teach them the art of pugilism. You may not know the first thing about it, but you'll learn together or something

>>5086252
>>Give three other kobolts some proper weaponry of choice

>>5086252
Give the kobolts some bullets and spears for the two other ones. Spears are the best even if they can’t wield full size ones.
(IMO they should be the regular 1.8m because normal people can use spears many times their height)

>>5086253
>Spears, but at least a couple knives and daggers.
We're not trying to curate their perfect loadout right now, let's stick to simple things

>>5086252
>Give three other kobolts some proper weaponry of choice

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You give the twins a sling each, Chad a simple and and admittedly cheap sword, and then you decide to just arm the most capable-looking of the bunch.
You give Pink a hatchet to work with, considering she seems like the biggest kobolt amongst them. That should, by all accounts, grant her at least a small advantage over the others, though she'll need training all the same.
After that, you offer to give the one with the collar a weapon, and you're a bit surprised by her pick. A warpick, that is.
While it's the perfect weapon to deal with armor, it's a bit niche. Still, if it works, it works. She swings it around with gusto a few times, and you are quick to stop her before she plants it into the walls. Then, that leaves you with one more person you can arm up...
You decide to give a shortspear to the smallest kobolt, who doesn't say anything... though you do get a quick hug from her. You wonder if she's a sister to the one with the collar.

With that, you take up inventory:
The one with the hood has her own dagger, though you buy her a replacement all the same. Hers is a bit rusted, and may warp or even break in the future.
Chad has a straightsword. Simple and reliable, as far as you care.
The twins are both equipped with slings, and they'll have to find their own rocks to make it work.
Pink now has a hatchet, which will double as a tool outside of battle, very nice. She already likes how shiny it looks, and she's just gazing at herself in the mirror sheen. Might want to give her some polish, you suppose.
Collar has a warpick, which she might intend to use on rocks as well, considering she keeps talking about finding "metalliferous earth".
The smallest has a spear... You did that because she appeared the weakest of the bunch, and you'd prefer if she could just keep her enemies at arm's length... or about two to three arms, in her case.
Finally, that leaves the leghumper with an ordinary dagger. She seems to enjoy fiddling with it,though the scales on her hand seem tough enough to avoid her from getting hurt.

You leave the shop quickly, after that. The merchant was a golem, so your entourage was uncommented on, but as soon as you step outside... you're surrounded by alchemists of all types. Though there is one doctor that seems to command a lot more respect, or perhaps fear, than the others.
She's holding a glass bottle, containing something so foul that it seems bubble and smoke even as she is holding it.
"You, knight. You are cursed, yes? Allow me to research you." She says, tersely. A woman, it seems, though it is hard to tell past the cloak and the beak.
Her cloak seems to be a personalized design. She's no ordinary student.

>Allow her to come along, for now. Maybe this woman knows how to help you? You are headed to your room, regardless.

>Politely tell her to back away, and make your way to your room.

>Tell the kobolts to head to the room while you head into an examination room. People will talk if you let her into a private room.

>>5086372
>>Allow her to come along, letting her explain her story for now. Maybe this woman knows how to help you? You are headed to your room, regardless. she might get her examination after you hear her story

>>5086390
+1

Politely but firmly ask her to leave

>>5086390
This.
I see no problem in having her follow us as long as she explains her plans.

>>5086412
>a thot
>no problem

>>5086372
>>5086372
No at least until she explains.
>Politely tell her to back away, and make your way to your room.

>>5086406
>>5086453
+1
Hell nah

>>5086372
>Politely tell her to back away, and make your way to your room.

>>5086372
>Tell the kobolts to head to the room while you head into an examination room. People will talk if you let her into a private room.

come on guys, she is interesting, and to be honest, we are gonna need all the help we can get, we should at least hear her out, if we don't like what she has to say then we send her on her way.

>>5086523
You make a reasonable point. I can agree to that.

>>5086372
Ask her what she intends to research exactly. Shes not painting herself to be a trustworthy figure.

>>5086372
>>Allow her to come along, for now. Maybe this woman knows how to help you? You are headed to your room, regardless.

>>5086252
>It means it's about on par with leather guards, albeit thicker and more protective, but their limbs are still possible to hit. It's a bit of a trade-off, and you're still spending a bit more money than plain guards.
Shit. So it's a middling ground of cost + protectiveness between the guards and full leather armor. Double shit. Well, we already bought the gear. Later down the line, what do we need to buy to fully armor them up? More leathers, or just buy brigandine? How expensive is brigandine?

>>5086523
>sketch ass witch walks up to you
>”u got curse right mind if experiment on you??”
>Sure!

>>5086549
>sketch ass kobolds walk up to you after you slay their master
>yeah we'll totally obey you, definitely
>Oh, okay sure!
We're running on adventure logic here, anon

>>5086563
Eh...Kobolds are all about serving the big guy. We killed their big guy, therefore becoming the big guy by right. Witches, on the other hand, are always scheming and lying.

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>>5086390
>>5086412
>>5086534
>>5086391
>>5086532

Permit witch, if she explains herself

>>5086406
>>5086453
>>5086487
>>5086489

Begone thot

Looks like you'll hear her out. Writing now

>>5086593
>Begone thot
Lmao. When so we get to use POWERFUL KOBOLT THIGHS as pillows?

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Reject human hags, embrace kobolt kuties.

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You look at the woman for a moment, and sigh.
"Explain what you intend to do, first. I'll be walking to my room in the meantime."
"My intent is simple. You are cursed, and you are surrounded by kobolts. One may have to do with the other, perhaps not. So I want to perform a medical exam upon you, gather samples, run tests. It is a simple request."
She finished talking before you're even finished walking out of the crowd of alchemists. She's quick and to the point, if nothing else...
Then, you notice the smallest kobolt getting grabbed by one of the more rowdy students, and you raise your hand to the doctor walking alongside you.
The kobolt only gives a scared squeak as its pulled along, but then you place your hand on the alchemist's wrist.

There is a sudden pause in the crowd as you squeeze hard enough to make the alchemist yelp.
"Hey HEY! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"
"Drop the kobolt."
"I-IT'S NOT EVEN A GOOD ONE, IT'S A RUNT! YOU CAN SPARE ONE, I NEED THIS FOR MY THESIS!"
Not even a good one, he says. For his thesis? You pull the man closer, almost face to face. Slowly, and with perhaps a little too much growl in your voice, you tell him:
"I would ask that you reconsider your value of life. Understood?" You articulate that last part very slowly, and the crowd begins to thin now that you've made your position clear.
You keep a headcount of the kobolts, though Chad is ahead of you when he yells:
"DROP PINK OR CHAD WILL DROP YOU!"
Fortunately, that threat worked. You didn't think he had that kind of fire in him. Good for him.
You realize you're still clutching the alchemist tightly by the wrist, and let him off.
"W-Whatever... You... you Illiterati!"

Insulting you on the way out? Very brave of him.
You let him go, of course, no need to get violent over this. The only person still with you, at the moment, is the doctor. She is entirely unphased by the short altercation, though perhaps a little impatient. She's checking her watch...
Ah. A watch? She must be from a rich family. Those things cost a fortune... though hers seems to be rather shoddily made, using mere leather to strap it to her wrist. Even then, the mechanism of such a thing is hardly cheap.
You start walking, and she elects to keep talking.
"For full disclosure, I intend to give you a full checkup. You will likely have to go naked to do so, though I understand if you wish to keep your underwear on. I'm a professional, so there is not need to be troubled." She goes over it with almost no emotion.
Like she's reading it off a card.
"After that, I'll gather up a blood sample, and some skin if you'll permit me. I'll sedate and bandage it, don't worry. Then, I'll see if I have anything to aid your health in regards to the curse. Anything else you must know?"
"Yes... what do you intend to do to the kobolts?"
"Little. I expect to find traces of them on your body, though I'd like a scale for comparison. That is all."

...Do you permit her?

>Alright, good enough

>Begone, doc.

>>5086620
>Alright, good enough
She better not be lying or she will get the sword.

>>5086620
>Alright, good enough

>>5086620
>Alright, good enough
Don't gimme any drugs or injections.

>>5086620
>>Alright, good enough
>>I like your style doc, I think we will get along just fine

"Fair enough. Come along."

The rest of the trip was mostly uneventful. You suspect arming the kobolts helps a lot in keeping grubby fingers off of them, though guessing from the looks you're getting, it may have something to do with the fact you were willing and able to defend your wards.
Or are they looking at your current companion?

The room is quite pleasant, and larger than usual. They've brought in some pillows and matresses as well, as per your request. They didn't demand that much money for it, as well, which is quite fortunate.
As soon as you arrive, the kobolts gaze in amazement as the luxury of it all. Compared to the cave, at least.
"Dragon is bestest dragon!" One of them says.
They're almost depressingly easy to please, but that doesn't matter. You make your way to the bathroom with the doctor in tow, not willing to strip down in front of them all. The doctor wordlessly follows, though she has already taken out a bag with all sort of curious medical apparatus. You begin to undo your armor with quick, trained motions, and after the straps are done, you quickly pile up your steel plates and place them in the receptacle for cleaning. Your gambason is easier to remove, and you dump that one in the laundry chute. They have to get it cleaned, after all, even if they can't quite fix it up as good as they can.
By the time you're done, all that's left is your underwear.

The doctor stares at you for some time, and then asks:
"The helmet?"
"Ah. One moment."
You head outside of the bathroom for a moment, and go to your pack. There's not much in it, but it does hold your backup helmet. It's a design you're not quite as fond of, being more head-shaped compared to the bucket helm, but needs must. The kobolts all seem to fall silent as you stride in and out, and the leghumper especially seems excited, guessing from how she's wagging her tail. You were fairly certain that was more of a dog thing, but you suppose multiple creatures can have such a tendency. It's cute.
No idea why she's so excited. You suppose it's because this is the first time you aren't wearing your armor.
You replace your helmet with the other as you enter the bathroom once more, and then toss the bucket helm into the receptacle with the rest of the armor.
The doctor stares at you for a time...

"...I meant that you would take the helmet off."
"It is off."
"You're just wearing a different helmet."
"Yes."
"...So take it off."
"Why?"
"I need to see your face. Your eyes are the first thing to check."
"Ah."

....

You take off the helmet, slowly, and place it on the sink.
"Hm... Right. Your eyes are still human, good. Did you have orange eyes before this?"
what
"Orange!?"
"Ah, no then. Before you worry, it's only a minor discolouration. Still in the realm of potentially natural. Now..."
(cont)

She takes out a candle, which is somehow fully lit, from her pouch and places it close to your eye. The oddly bright flame is uncomfortable, though it doesn't last long before she pulls it away again... and places it back into her pouch.
What IS that?
"Dilation and contraction is normal. Pupils remain round... good. Eyes haven't changed much, at least. Now, moving on."
She presses her hands against your chest, and hums appreciatively.
"You're a very healthy specimen, especially for somebody in your line of work."
"Thanks. I wear a lot of armor."
"I can see that. There is some bruising around here, I see... recent injury?"
"Tail swipe from the dragon. Nothing major, though it did leave me winded at the time."
The doctor nods, and then moves along your body. Moving from the chest to your back in a line, tickling your unintentionally. You're not very susceptible to it, but her delicate touch is making you uncomfortable.
"Scar tissue, here... Looks to be a burn wound. Too old to be from the dragon, however. Mind telling me how that came about?" She asks.

You do, in fact, mind. You mind a lot. It's a personal thing that you'd really, REALLY prefer not to think about.
"...I don't want to talk about that scar, if possible."
"Very well. I'm going to be pressing down on it, so be prepared."
It doesn't hurt there. Matter of fact, it's hard to feel anything in that spot.
"Nothing but scar tissue. This was a deep burn."
"Can you move on?" You ask.
"Very well." She replies.

She keeps moving across your body, taking note of the smaller scars as well. There aren't many.
Because of the armor, you see.
Then, suddenly, she stops. when she's looking at your neck:
"Ahhh, there it is. Figured as much. One moment."
She takes out a little knife, spinning it along her fingers as she does so, and you are quick to stop her a moment:
"What are you doing?"
"There is a scale growing on your neck. I'm going to cut it loose. It will be akin to picking off a scab, though you're to warn me if it hurts too much."
...

She slices it off with great skill, and then places it in a little dish.
"Here it is."
It's blue. Vibrant blue.
Staring at it sort of makes you feel like your chest is going to collapse. Makes this curse business... very real.
"This is... fast, right?" You say, fearfully.
"It's a scale that's barely half a centimeter big at one of your major magical focal points. Consider it more of an estimate of the curse's strength... By my calculations, there's no doubt it can turn you into a full dragon about 1.8 times over... Rounded up, and not accounting for your inherent magical resistance. I'll need a few hours to determine that."
"You can do that?"
"I can do many things. I'll take a blood sample, now."
She takes out a belt and a big syringe. Ahh... needles. Your old enemy.
She ties it around your arm, and you look at the wall as intensely as you can manage, hoping that as long as you don't see it, it won't be a problem.
"Scared of needles? Understandable."
(cont)

>>5086799
Strange how she knew what type of curse it was at a glance, really makes you think...

>>5086799
Ah, I'm glad she's a professional and not crazy. I hope she has some abs.

>>5086799
I suspect that these kobolt idiots are somehow involved.

>>5086811
>I hope she has some abs.
high quality taste detected
-----------------------

"Right, that's done."
"How did you... know the type of curse?"
"I was told it was a transforming curse, and that it was done by a dragon. There aren't many types of curses in the first place, so it's easy enough to identify. Then i made an estimate from the size of the scale to the amount of time you've been cursed."
...
You chew on your tongue for a moment, uncomfortable in trying to broach the subject... especially as she's going over your legs.
"It's clear you travel a lot, powerful calves. Anyway, looks like that's it. Apart from being cursed, you're in the prime of your life and in exceedingly good shape. Good job."
She stands up, and shrugs... Before taking out a potato peeler.
"Are you serious."
"Yes. Do you have a preference for where I shall slice?"
"Is there really not a better way for you to-"
"There is, but this blade works, i have it on hand, and you won't feel a thing."

...

"The back, upper."
"Common choice."
She takes out a compress, and places it against an area of her choosing... And it soon turns numb.
"What is that stuff?"
"Salt slug drool."
"I now no longer wish to know what that stuff is."
"Common statement."

At any rate, she done just a short while later.
"Well, I'll be taking some samples from the kobolts, now. One moment."
She steps into the room with a little pot, and just says:
"Scale donations. One coin per kobolt!"

....

It was like a hoard of starving dogs towards a fresh leg of lamb. Her little pot is full, and she calmly wipes off some of the scale dandruff from her cloak, and then hands out eight coins.
She turns to you, and then adds one more thing.
"Would you permit me to check your genitals?"

You blink.
You blink again.

"To be complete." She adds.

The pause is audible. The sheer lack of noise is honestly notable, and all the kobolts have gone deathly quiet as well.
"I'd really rather you didn't."
"Very well. Don't think it would have had anything important, but you were getting a checkup anyway, so I thought I'd offer. I'll have to head to my chambers to finish checking everything. I'll be able to give you a better estimate of things tomorrow. Rest well, sleep is more important than people say it is. I've got the research to prove it."

She leaves the room, and you stand there, somewhat confused... Before putting the helmet back on.
Now you feel safe.

...While sleep IS important, perhaps you should speak to the kobolts a bit, get to know them better.

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> Pink
You haven't really gone into depth with her, even though she was the main speaker of the gang. Her coloration is also rather unique.

>Tiny kobolt
The really small kobolt has said very little, up until now. Probably a good time to talk.

>Collared kobolt
You should ask if she needs to get that thing removed or something... in addition to more pleasant conversation.

>Leghumper
You should, at least, figure out what her name is. And maybe have some more casual conversation?

>Chad
You like the way he's been carrying himself. You should talk to him a little more.

>Twins
You need to figure out if they're colourblind, at least... And maybe figure out their history.

>Hooded one
This one seems particularly different from the rest. Even her body shape is different, ever so slightly, and she was already armed.

>Just go to bed
Sleep IS important, as the doctor said.

>>5086902
>Hooded one
This one seems particularly different from the rest. Even her body shape is different, ever so slightly, and she was already armed.
Maybe shes a kobolt wizard?

>>5086902
Let's meet pink, since she was basically the leader.

>>5086902
First of all, what time is it, and how much time are we going to waste per conversation.

>>5086909
You can expect one conversation to be a freebie, and any more conversations will be eating into nap time

>>5086902
>Tiny kobolt
It seems like she does little talk.
Anyways, we literally haven’t spoken to her, I think.

>>5086902
>Hooded one
We must unpeel the mystery

>>5086902
>Hooded one
Mystery box!

>>5086902
Does breakfast and coffee come free in the morning?

>>5086902
>> Pink

I feel like we should wait to speak with the hooded one, she clearly doesnt trust us yet

>>5086911
Is it immoral to fuck any of the kobolts?

>>5087014
>Is it immoral to fuck your pets?
Idk, this IS 4chan

>>5087017
could it be all eight then?

>>5087014
>it's only immoral if we make immoral, for me, I am all in on that
>degenerate kobold snuggling handholding, snout bopping lewdness~
>to nightcap the degeneracy, it will all be consentual~

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>>5087021
nice

>>5087024
stealing that pic

>>5086902
>Hooded one
Let's figure out what the deal is with that cloak, dagger and the wizard experiments.
>Pink (Extra)
She seems pretty sociable. Let's get to know her better.

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out of all the bolds, which should we use as a body pillow? I think we should use pink since she's the biggest.

>>5087059
none we go to lay down and end up the base of a cuddle pile with runt curled up on our chest just under our chin

>>5087061
Agreed. We can tell the cobolts some bedtime stories <3

>>5086902
>Leghumper

>>5087059
Is she also the softest?

>>5087014
Kobolts are for cherishing and protecting not for fucking

>>5087237
>porce los dos

>>5087237
Based and komfy kobolt kuddle pile pulled

>>5087252
breed bolds

>>5086902
>Hooded one
>Collared kobolt

>>5086902
>Pink, Hooded One

Both seem capable warriors. We should get to know every comrade-in-arms, but a mysterious mutant and the kobold leader are priority.

Best waifu candidates, too.

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>>5086904
>>5086915
>>5086968
>>5087052
>>5087405
>>5087396

Hood

>>5086906
>>5087006
>>5087052

Pink

>>5086912
Smol

>>5087396
Collar

Hooded one (her name is Snikt, as you'll find out) wins by a landslide

You decide to sit down next to the hooded kobolt, after some deliberation. You'd be a little more ashamed from wearing only underwear and a helmet, but... eh.
They're kobolts. Not like any of this should be important to them, humper aside.
The hooded one doesn't say anything, though she does stare at you. Her scales are on the red side, but still quite a bit darker than the other kobolts. Upon closer inspection, however, you also notice that she has scars along her neck... which might explain why she wears a hood. That's... concerning.
"Hello."
"Hi." She says back, straining to say it normally. She hisses a little bit all the same.
"So... Do you have a name?"
"Snikt." She just about coughs out. You're... not entirely sure if that's a name or a sneeze.
"Is that your name? Snicks?"
"Snikt. The T is big need."
"Big- Oh. you mean important?"
"Yes-yes." She connects the two yes's together into one word, it seems. She's wringing her hands at the moment, and you flinch a little when she takes out her dagger... It's a rather high-quality kris, actually... though that's perhaps a bit of an oxymoron. A wavy blade isn't really the ideal shape, even if it does make it harder for wounds to close afterwards. You sacrifice a bit of sturdiness, and it's just not as cost-effective.
Still, there's quality here.

She takes out a little rag, spits in it, and starts cleaning the dagger... Her hunch seems to fade a little bit as she does so, and then she actually looks at you for once.
"...Make me feel safe. Sorry, dragon."
"It's fine... It's a fine blade. Where did you happen upon it?"
"Not-friend gave to me. Said I had to do thing for him. Thought not-friend was friend but was not-friend... Kept the knife."
....
"Not-friend, you say? Somebody that... betrayed you? Who did that, some other kobolt?"
"Tallman. Like you. But smaller. Wore a dress, had horns."
"Horns? Then it wasn't a human... Might have been half-human, I suppose... Hard to say."
"Doesn't matter. Said I was good. Then said I was bad... Then left me in prison wood."
Okay you can't decipher what prison wood might mean.
"Was it a prison in the woods or..."
"No. Wooden block that opens. Hole for face and arms."
...Stocks.
"You were kept in stocks?"
"Tallman said I had to steal candle from big man. Said big man was evil. Did as asked, because want to be adventurer and tallman said would help me."

Well.
You hope you don't meet that tallman.
There might be a rather bloody accident that happens if you do. You decide to focus on something else, for now:
"You wanted to be an adventurer?"
"Never had dragon. Never had clan. Egg hatch desert. Am sun-mothered. Searched for long time. Listened to cah-ra-van." She had to take her time to pronounce that last word. She keeps talking:
"Didn't have family. Wanted to see more world. Heard adventurer get much shiny in exchange for seeing world."
(cont)

>>5087475
Gotta be blunt with her. Advdnturers are rsecutally glorified hobos. They're typically wandering, unemployed people, sleep in the woods, pillage crypts for gold. Some of them are good, some of them are bad. It's a mixed bag overall.

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Yeah that's not quite... That's what they say to sell you on the idea. Adventurers are really just homeless mercenaries... like you are, you suppose, though you more of a goal than "get paid".
"So you tried to talk to people a lot, yes?"
"Yes. Many people not like me. Some people try kill me. I fast... Sometimes bite throat or kick knee."
She's a fighter, as you suspected.
"That couldn't have been easy."
"Hm. Me know. Sometimes people kind. Gave bread... or fish. Snikt's favorite food is fish."
You'll keep that in mind.

"So... You got betrayed and put in stocks. For how long?"
"Two season. Kept me fed, and kicking kept body from wasting... Neck still hurts."
Oh.
Ohhhh....
The hunch isn't a voluntary thing.
"Then bandits came. Big fight. Let me go to shoot arrows at me. But I still very fast... Then I came back."
You blink twice.
"Why did you go BACK?"
"...I wanted the thing from the big man. I wanted the shiny knife. Now it's my shiny knife. Snikt owns this knife and will not share."

She suddenly freezes up, and stares at you with a mix of fear and suspicion.
"U-unless... d-dragon... wants it but... S-snikt really want to keep knife!" She sounds extremely worried about it. It's... kind of heartrending. Who the hell DOES that to kobolts?
You suppose the "big man" wasn't much better than the vagabond that tricked her into stealing this dagger.
"It's fine!" You say, raising your hands. But now you're still wondering:
"How did you end up with the dragon?"
"...dragon was there? You killed old dragon."
"Okay, I mean... how did you end up with old dragon."
"Found Pink and Chad stealing. Told them not to do it or they go to wood prison... They tell me they safe because of dragon... I wanted to be safe, so I follow. And steal much potatoes as offering."

...Hmm.
Considerably more tragic than you expected, all things considered. She's still cleaning her kris using her spit, which is...
You have some oil in your pack, if you want to take the time. She could be taught how to properly take care of her weaponry.

Or you could head to bed.

>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly

>Go to bed

>Hug kobolt

>>5087488
>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly

>>5087488
Can we hug her, then teach her how to properly sharpen her knife?

I wanted sex, but now I just want her to be happy, god damn man.

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>>5087495

>>5087488
>Hug kobolt
>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly

>>5087495
see >>5087237
and know in your heart that it is true
Well maybe sex AFTER we solve their emotional issues

>>5087488
>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly
This is important

>>5087488
>Hug kobolt
>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly

Also we should check with a doctor and ask if she can design something to fix her posture.

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>>5087488
>apply hugs

good to see you on 4chan spine you bony man!
Also fuck you for making me sad

>>5087488
>Teach her to take care of her weapons properly

...You feel perhaps a bit bummed out, knowing what this poor girl went through. You don't waste time, though, you should give her something useful to do.

"You shouldn't just use spit to clean your weapon... I've got some oil available, even a whetting stone, if the blade is dulled."
The kobolt just stares at you, uncertain of what to make of this.
"The oil will prevent the blade from rusting, and it doesn't need to be done very often, but I suspect this kris was an heirloom. If it's going to see actual combat, you'll want to make sure it's strengthened."
"Spit bad?"
"Spit is, indeed, not great. Generally, once the oiling has been done, you'll want to stick to a clean rag to keep it moisture-free. Fortunately, it looks like there's no rust on the blade... Would you show it to me for a moment, please?"
The "please" seems to be a bit of a trigger word, as she all but shoves it in your face. You're glad you're wearing a helmet, but she didn't do anything too dangerous.
"D-dragon may see! Is fine!"
"Calm down, okay? I'll just take a look."

You take a close look at the blade... no chipping, no warping. Hasn't seen much use yet...
"I'm going to touch it now, okay? Don't move!"
You don't want to just take the blade, she seems rather attached. You carefully place your thumb close to the edge, and slide it across...
Dull as a troll's behind. Right.
"You'll need to sharpen it. One moment, I'll give an example with the axe."
Moving to your pack, you take out your whetting stone, and the simple woodcutting axe. Weighted for lumber, rather than war, it's not really useful as a weapon... unless you're in a real pinch.
With the stone in hand, you show it off to the kobolt. She watches with rapt attention as you explain the process to her, slowly and gently. The axe is sharpened as you show it, and you even show her how you like to get a feel for the edge.
She's a quick learner, though the design of the blade makes it a lot more difficult to sharpen. It's going to take slow, deliberate movements along the wavy design to make it work.
She does it with pleasure, though, and she looks as though you granted her the ability to shoot lightning out of her eyes with how grateful she is.

She puts time in her weaponry; She'll make for a fine squire if nothing else.
You take note of her hunch, as well, and you sigh.
Maybe one of the alchemists knows of a way to straighten her out again. But you...
hmm.
This is perhaps a bit too personal. Unprofessional, even, but...
"Say,Snikt?"
"Yes dragon!?" Snikt says, flinching at being called by name.
"...Would you like a hug?"

Snikt just stares at you, mouth agape, and the other kobolts just stare as well.
Snikt looks around for a moment, seeing all the gazes from the other kobolt, and you... Still shirtless.
You may have made it weird.
(cont)

"It's fine." You say, apologetically. "I just though you would-"
She slams into you at full speed, placing her little scaly hands around your chest... or trying to, at least. You can feel her heartbeat from how tightly she's hugging you, and it's beating a mile a minute, almost vibrating more than just beating. She nestles her head against your chest as well, and sighs.
"...Dragon warm."

The others are quick to make comments./
"Heyyy."
"Are you sharing!?"
"Ssssh, Snikt deserve this. Shut up."
You think the tiny one said that last bit. Good instincts.

The hug lasts... perhaps a little longer than expected, and then she steps away.
She's crying.
"T-thu-thuhank you! Was really warm!"

Your heart.

>Time to go to bed
You've got a long two weeks ahead of you. Best be prepared

>Risk waking up tired and talk to another kobolt
You were planning on talking to Pink, earlier...

>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.
But we will NOT make it weird.

>>5087598
>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.

>>5087598
>You've got a long two weeks ahead of you. Best be prepared

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>>5087598
>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.

>>5087598
>Time to go to bed
It will be weird.

>>5087598
>>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.


But we will NOT make it weird.
>surree, give into the lewd bold wholesomeness~

if we kind their means,I want to fix snikt's hunch back. it is a land of magic damn it there has to be something we can do

>>5087598
>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.

>>5087598
>Risk waking up tired and talk to another kobolt
Pink. Ask for her input on our performance as a dragon so far, and her assessment of her clan.

>>5087598
>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.
Go to bed in a pile and tell the kobolts bedtime stories. We'll have plenty of time to talk to the others over the coming weeks.
>>5087608
I second finding a way to fix Snikt's back. We could ask the nice witch that examined us earlier to take a look.

>>5087628
>Go to bed in a pile and tell the kobolts bedtime stories. We'll have plenty of time to talk to the others over the coming weeks.

>oh my god, it's to wholesome,

>>5087598
>>Time to go to bed... in a pile. You heard kobolts need heat.

....You carefully and silently note that they did not offer blankets for the kobolts, but they did add it for you. With some deliberation, you decide to offer something that you know you're going to regret.
"I heard you people require heat more than most... There's only one blanket. I will cover myself in the mattress cover, and you can join me under the blanket if you don't mind. There will be a split, and the heat will-"
You didn't even finish talking by the time they finished making a mattress and pillow fort, with a blanket right in the middle. You suppose you were looking up at the ceiling because of how... suspicious the request might come across but...
They did this in *seconds*.
"Were you planning this?"
"No!" The collared one says, and Chad proudly states:
"Kobolts are VERY good builders."
"Snikt also... like sleeping piles. Feels safe."

Alright. You, uh...
Wow they even made it roomy enough for you to crawl in without much issue. You cover yourself with the mattress cover ahead of time, and then lie down as Pink brings in the blanket... And Chad snuffs out the lights before hopping under the covers as well. Before long, you're covered head to toe in kobolts, with the smallest one curling up on your chest, four others electing to hug a limb each, the twins snuggling against your sides and Chad resigning himself to lying more in the middle of the everything pile.
It's... a little hard to breathe, but not too troubling. As you lie back, trying to relax... The smallest one speaks.
"Dragon want anything?" She asks.
"No." You reply. "Apart from sleep."
"...Okay."

...
Oh god damn it.

"Do you want a bedtime story?"
"Eeeeee" is the response from just about all the kobolts, and some of them hug you a little tighter. Alright...
You end up telling a story from your crusade days. This was during hte first city you took over, where you were trying on all your different armors. You were barely sixteen at the time, so almost none of it actually fit you, so you went through it all..
As in the whole shop
For HOURS.
The descriptions of the different armors, and especially how they failed to fit you and how bratty you could be, amused the kobolts quite a bit. By the time you finally reached your bucket helm... They're all fast asleep.
Okay.
You lie back, and sigh.
What did you get yourself into?

-------------------------------------------

You wake up to the sound of your armor being dropped off. They did their best to be quiet, but you've trained yourself to react to even the softest footfalls.
The kobolts are all still on top of you, and you are... stuck.

>Get up and wake the kobolts.

>Politely wait for them to wake up first.

>Close your eyes and get back to bed.

>>5087715
>Close your eyes and get back to bed.

>>5087715
>Get up and wake the kobolts.
We've got a long day ahead of us, and this dragon transformation curse is progressing too quickly for comfort.

>>5087715
>Get up and wake the kobolts

>>5087715
>Get up and wake the kobolts.
If we woke up that means we rested enough, right?

>>5087715
>Close your eyes and get back to bed.

>>5087715
>>Get up and wake the kobolts.

I like these 'bolds, be we got shit to do!

>>5087715
>Get up and wake the kobolts.

...We are gonna make the Tucker clan look like rank amateurs by the end of this aren't we. Like some one is gonna attack us and they are gonna get dog-piled by vicious mini-dragons that rip them apart like a pack of piranhas, loot them, and come back to us to receive head pats.

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>>5087783
Yes

>>5087783
The thing we'll have to remember is that Kobolds are weak by nature. Meaning they'll have to get CRAFTY, much like Tucker's. Head on confrontations aren't great. Poisons, debilitations, stuff like that is what's going to be their real bread and butter. The close-range stuff should be for emergencies.

>>5087715
>Close your eyes and get back to bed.

>>5087808
We should teach them how to utilize throwable nets, lassos, bolas, caltrops, and the like. Some things we can teach them, others we might need a Rogues help with.

>>5087808
>>5087828
I say we train and arm the kobolts with flintlocks, once we get a chance to. Or even better, with dragons if they exist in this universe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_(firearm)
Nothing like having a clan of dragon-wielding dragons, though teaching them proper gun safety might be a tad challenging.

>clearly this quests endgame is a fight with another knight who adopted a family of goblins to see wich family is superior

>>5087941
Or join together for Jolly Cooperation?

>>5087941
The natural end result of all found family adventures:
PVP

>>5087941
>>5087980
That'd be quite the endgame- proof of concept that Kobolds and Goblins can be civilized members of society.

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>>5087495

>>5087715
>>Carefully, slowly, and with all the grace a knight can muster extract yourself from the pile without waking anyone of your kobodls,...did you just think of them as yours?

>>5088007
I fully support this plan

>>5087715
>Close your eyes and get back to bed.

QM we should, if we have the time, invest in equipping the Kobolds with the Chinese style of automatic crossbow. They're able to be fired multiple times, are relatively light, and doesn't require much strength if any to load and fire.

>>5087715
Get up and wake the kobolts

we have shit to do

>>5088145
Sad but true

>>5087715
>Get up and wake the kobolts
Coddling them too much is a disservice. Teach them knightly virtue!

>>5087734
>>5087747
>>5087826
>>5088047

nap

>>5087742
>>5087745
>>5087746
>>5087754
>>5087757
>>5088145
>>5088385

get up

it's fukkin' neck and neck here

>>5088590
Almost twice as many
>get up
votes, "neck and neck"... you wat?

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You decide to get up. No good was ever done by sleeping in, except that one time you had to kill a sleep demon, but that doesn't count. You move yourself up, causing the smallest one that curled up on your chest to fall over and yelp, landing on Chad... who then wiggles around enough to wake up the people attached to your legs. The ones hanging on to your arms, the twins, have a deathgrip on there, and you actually need to shake them around a little bit before they wake up.
Good thing they're so light.
There is a lot of hissing, and at one point somebody (Snikt) pulled a knife, but as soon as you speak, they seem to calm down.
"Alright, everybody, it's time to greet the day and get to work. I've got a long journey ahead of me, and you can't stay in this place."
"Of course not! We go where dragon go!" is the response. Yeah....
You'll have to figure out how to deal with that.

Standing up, you tell the kobolts to clean up the fortress they made while you put on your armor. It's a bit of an ordeal to do so, to the point that if you're out on the road you don't even bother taking it off, but you have the hour or so you need. You move to the bathroom, tossing off the mattress cover as you go. You feel perhaps a bit stiff, and you've got some marks from the grip the kobolts had on you with their little claws. Nothing that broke the skin, of course.
You start off with the Gambeson... it's clear they didn't even bother trying to clean your old one, and instead just got you a new one. The color is wrong, though the fabric and size is the same. That goes on quick, comparatively. Then, your armor...
Its still a little bit battered, and there are still marks of the dragon's blood on it. It's a little bit paler where-ever it was. On a technicality, it's cleaner than before, but you fear it might be the first sign towards a weakening in the armor.
Nothing to be concerned about yet, but it will affect the long-term health of the armor.
Your sword, however... that one still suffered. They managed to repair the chips with their epoxy, but it's lost some of its shine compared to before and, like the armor, the color is wrong. They straightened the blade out against, as well, so it looks... fine. It will serve you well on the road, but it won't enjoy the typical upgrade a few nights with the alchemists might enjoy.

When you finish up your armor, you slap it twice against the breastplate, and you are satisfied with how it fits. Good.
When you enter the room again, you see it's... cleaner than it was before. It was a pretty good room before, but it downright *sparkles* now. So much that even the world sparkles has *sparkles* around it.
Very good...
"Excellent work, everybody! They'll be very glad to see it like that!"
Your praise has them very excited, making them jump up and down excitedly.

...Cute.

>Leave this city right away, you're on a tight schedule

>Find the doctor first

>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.

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>>5088624

>>5088626
>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.
Grab some food while we still can

>>5088626
>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.

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>>5088627
What kind of on the road rations do we have? salted meats? grains of rice? hard tacks? Jerky? nuts? dried veggies? Whole onions? Sewet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_vLuMobHCI

>>5088626
>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.
Do some drills with the kobolts

>>5088626
>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.

>>5088626
>Wait in your room so the doctor can come to you.

Maybe we could prepare everything while we're waiting.

>>5088626
>Find the doctor first

Let's find her maybe she will be able to point us towards someone that can give us something to fix posture. So we can do that while she finishes her tests

>>5088703
+1

>>5088640
Pemmican

>>5088626
>Wait for the doc

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You elect to wait a moment longer, hoping that the doctor will come in to help out. In the meantime, you look over your food for the road. Its not enough to feed the kobolts, not by a long shot, and you just don't have the budget to buy it here. Instead, you'll have to live off the land. Fortunately, it's rather easy to do. You're a seasoned traveler, and you know what's edible and what isn't. Hunting is a bit of a tougher prospect for you, as you were never a good shot with a bow. Instead, you made do with traps you set during the night or, if possible, spearfishing. With the twins and their slings, however, you might be able to eat more than one meal per day.
Fortunately, however, you didn't have to wait long. The sun has barely finished rising when you hear an urgent knock at the door.
Your kobolts have a short moment where they stumble over eachother to get the door, though it's Pink that wins and opens it.
"BIRD LADY!" She shouts, and yesterday's doctor stands there...
Without her mask, you notice.

She has bags under her eyes, and her hair looks like a raven's nest. She seems to be perpetually angry about something, though it doesn't seem to be at anything specific.
"I'm done with my tests. You have a very long amount of time, but the amount of mana you're giving off is going to be troublesome. You're likely to attract weirdness."
"Wh-"
"Weirdness as in creatures that are drawn to mana will move towards you. That brings forth trouble. Your travel to the archmage will not be quiet, I can tell you that. Also of note, you have months before your transformation will progress into the inhuman."
"That's good news."
She holds up her hand, glaring at you with a look that screams that you shouldn't talk.
"You'll still be transformating rapidly. You'll just still be recognizably human for months. If you don't want to end up with sharp teeth and scales along your body, you'd better hurry. Other than that, there is also good news. Your transformation will offer medical and combat benefits. Best I can tell, you'll be immune to nearly all diseases, and your musculature will increase in efficency at first, then size."
You take in a breath to ask what she means with that, but she just took a pause to breathe in herself:
"This means that you'll be more powerful without appearing more powerful, but that too is a temporary thing. Eventually, you'll be bigger than before, meaning your armor will need to be refitted. Also, your scales will prove on par with chainmail, though the spotty growth of them will mean it won't be effective armor for a long while yet."
"I-"
"All in all, your "curse" is almost entirely beneficial if you didn't care about your humanity, which, I hope for your sake, you hold dearly."
"Quite! Now slow down! What's the hurry?"
"I've been banished from the guild. I had to finish my obligation with you, then I will be leaving."

...Banished!? From the Alchemist's guild?
Clenching your fists, you carefully ask:
"What did you do..."(cont)

"I dissected a student when he expired from tuberculosis. I learned much, but they objected. Fools, all of them. At any rate, I'll be leaving soon, in the same direction as you are. I'll be leaving in half an hour, still need to gather my bags."
She looks behind her, nervously.
"Do you have any other questions for me? I don't have much time."

Uhhh

>No I'm good

>Do you need help?

>You are under arrest for the defilement of a corpse (grab her by the wrist)

>>5088791
>"Actually... Would you like to travel together for a while?"
Snikt needs her spine fixed, and it will be good to have someone on hand with medical and magical skill as we monitor our transformation AND lead a small troupe of monstergirls (and Chad) who we know almost nothing about.

>>5088791
>No I'm good

>>5088788
>If you don't want to end up with sharp teeth and scales along your body
WHO SAYS I DON'T?

>>5088795
+1
I mean, dissecting a student is bad, but it's kinda necessary to learn about diseases.

>>5088791
>First we will help you pack. Then I will help you repent.

Just btw this >>5088844
Can be counted towards >>5088795 this