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Sent Kobold

Chapter 12: Kobold's Legacy

There are things in the past that are forgotten. What happens when a past wishes to be so, as well as others?

---

A journey over a snowbound mountain is hardly easy. It took over a week for them to pass through the rock crags and high peaks, the snow shifting and crunching under the horses' hooves. The wagon itself had delayed them a few times by getting in small holes in the trail hidden by the snow or getting stuck by the ice itself, prompting a few times for them to get out and push. Any further delays were more swiftly resolved when Iskdiwercaesin got fed up with a very stubborn ice patch and breathed his acid over it, finally ridding them of the slippery patch, and nearly melting the wheels of the wagon in the bargain. The ice cold conditions didn't help matters. Baous had to constantly check the condition of the horses, fearing their health if he drove them too hard. The reptilian kobolds had their amulets of warmth, a true boon in these unkind temperatures, otherwise they would have been in the wagon, barely conscious and struggling for heat, but the amulets didn't protect them from everything. While it maintained their core body temperatures, their scales could still feel the chilled breeze, and they had to stay bundled. Baous and Iskdiwercaesin weren't that much better, though Baous had the advantage of both fur and warm clothing. Serhis stayed close to Baous on the front of the cart while Xet and Rhasalis kept warm with Iskdiwercaesin, who complained at first and was uncomfortable with anyone being in contact with him, but he let them anyway. They had the good fortune not to have been stuck in a snow storm during their trip at least.

As they finally reached the apex of their ascent and went down the other side, a measure of relief was felt by the whole group. From the top, they could see what had been hidden from the opposite side, a long stretch of snow covered treetops that spread out underneath them that gradually turned into a verdant green trees, and onwards beyond that, more green as the trees faded and only a long plain of grass remained that went off into the horizon. Unfurling the copy of the ancient map, they headed towards the last recorded position of a kobold settlement.

The trip down the other side wasn't as easy as they hoped. Goblins inhabited these hills and they were fiercely territorial, attacking their small group in large numbers. Twenty at first, then thirty, then forty. These attacks were easily repelled, but the goblins kept sending smaller attacks anyway, despite the danger and futility. They tried to fight in small, ill-prepared ambushes that were spotted by Serhis as he flew overhead while he scouted and night attacks that didn't have much effect, since all of them could see just as well in the dark. Though these attacks had an element of danger, they were more of a nuisance, and eventually all attacks stopped as they left the trees.

As they went out of the forest into grasslands, they found it harder and harder to tell where they were on the map. The mountains were their only landmark out in the wilderness, their course was mainly corrected at night when they navigated by the stars. Four days past the mountain, they reached the location on the map. What was there was only more grassland, it looked like nothing had remained of the settlement. Baous jumped off the wagon and searched the ground, desperate for any sign or clue. What he found was rock and dirt. More specifically, he found rock and dirt in certain patterns, some stones almost aligned in a square or circle, patches of dirt which might have been ancient roads in centuries past that had parts of it overgrown. Searching in what may have been the foundations of homes and shops, the others found more signs of the old settlement. Clay shards of broken pots, a stone knife that had been so dulled it could hardly be called a knife anymore, a few gold coins, and three ivory wands that Xet and Iskdiwercaesin confirmed still had spells in them, one of healing, one of fire, and one that created a bright sparkling dust. Although they were useful, they offered no more hints than the other objects about the whereabouts of where the original inhabitants went or where their descendants may be now. Undaunted, they set camp in the bones of the old settlement and stayed there for a dedicated search.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I think I found it!" Baous shouted as he climbed out of the hole.

Serhis, Baous, Iskdiwercaesin, Rhasalis, and Xet stood over the small pit they had dug. Three days of digging, and finally, something. Serhis had dedicated himself to the task of locating anything that might help in their search using spells that he would normally have used searching for ore veins to find any intact containers, in the hope whatever they stored might hold a clue. Unfortunately, searching for containers in general meant that there was no guarantee on what they found. They found sealed jars filled with foul liquids that would have been better if they stayed in the ground, bottles of wine that would make a connoisseur cry with envy to know they still existed, and small rusted boxes of iron that at times held nothing at all. What they found this time was different.

In the hole was stone chest roughly a meter in length and half its width, half as high as Serhis stood. Markings lined the lid of the chest, runes of Draconic, the language of magic, but intermixed with another language, one that none of them knew.

"It's got an aura of the arcane over it, no question about that," Iskdiwercaesin observed as he finished analyzing the chest. "It's an arcane lock. Unless you're the one who cast it or someone who the caster wanted to open it, we're out of luck unless any of us spontaneous can dispel the thing or crack it open with an opening spell. Otherwise, we're going to have to smash it."

Rhasalis shook her head. "That would be unwise. What's in there's probably as old as everything else, we'd probably break it as well as the chest."

"Sorry guys. We don't have any scrolls for this," Xet said as he looked into the wagon, checking the pile of their own magic items.

Serhis sighed. They were woefully unprepared for this search it seemed. The next time they had a chance to shop for scrolls and the like, they'd gather ones with some utility despite how expensive it was going to be. Times like showed how having a backup plan were sorely needed. "It holds something important if it requires that sort of lock. Also, it's buried near the center of town, so someone of importance must have owned the chest as well."

"When I thought about this search of your Baous, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to find powerful items. I've been right so far, but... I expect more fighting monsters and dungeon crawling, not lots of digging!" Iskdiwercaesin brushed his arms off, flinging dirt and mud back onto the ground.

"I thought dragons were good burrowers?" Baous said.

"Not green dragons! You're thinking about blue dragons, and they usually dig through sand. Or brass dragons. Now about opening that stone chest, how about one of those dither bombs? Can one of the small ones you've got blow just the top off?" Iskdiwercaesin asked the kobolds.

"I don't think so, there's no way to be sure how powerful it can be," Serhis replied. "It might not do much damage or blow it all up."

"And there's no way I can refine a mixture to be that exact. I'm a decent alchemist, but trying for that is way beyond me," Xet added.

"Maybe it can only be opened by kobolds," Baous jumped back into the hole and tried to open the lid. It remained sealed tight.

"That's a bust. What about those little marks under the spell markings? I haven't seen anything like that before," Iskdiwercaesin pointed at the unknown etchings.

Xet grinned at them. "I think it's time I showed everyone a new trick I learned," he said as he jumped into the hole with Baous. As he neared the chest, Xet looked at the markings and spoke a single word. "Renthisj."

Nothing seemed to happen, but they all understood the word itself, but it was said differently than how they usually pronounced it. Literally, it meant "speak." "Rest your hands on this stone for its wealth and feel as if you are moving the world itself. Rest your hand on this stone for its protection and those of our home and feel as if you are moving the wind," Xet said aloud as he read. "Well, that's helpful," he smirked as he tried to move it now, thinking about protection. After several tries, nothing. "That didn't work," he muttered.

"May I?" Baous put his own hands on the stone lid. Xet nodded and stood aside. Closing his eyes, he pushed the lid. It slid off, into the dirt.

"How'd you do that?" Xet looked at Baous. "You were probably thinking the same thing I was."

"Yeah. I think it's because the magic sensed I was a kobold and what I thought. Maybe," he shrugged.

"Anyways, what's inside?" Iskdiwercaesin asked earnestly. "It looks like a scroll."

"A rather old scroll," Serhis could tell even from here. Even though the chest had been sealed so securely that it had been airtight, age had still done it's damage to the vellum parchment. If it hadn't been sealed, nothing would have remained. Even now, it was being exposed to the open air and accelerating the process.

Carefully, Baous tried picked up the rolled up parchment, flinching as the edges crumbled at his touch. Being extra cautious, he delicately lifted it out, causing it to crumble a bit more, but the center remained intact. "I'm scared to unroll it. It might fall apart," Baous said nervously.

"I think I have something for this," Serhis said as he went to their wagon and came back with another scroll. Unfurling it and reciting the spell, the older scroll in Baous' hands seemed to become more stable. He had used a mending scroll, something they had originally thought they were going to need to use on their wagon for repairs."

"That scroll better have something important on it or we just wasted our repairs," Iskdiwercaesin commented.

"We'll find out," Baous unfurled the scroll and looked at it. Then he passed it to Xet, "uh, I think you should, since you can read whatever it says."

Xet grinned as he got to show off a bit. He and Iskdiwercaesin had been practicing their arcane skills during the whole trip, as did the others on their own skills. It was only now he got to put them to use. "For those that must follow, that have left their own homes in search for another because they must, we leave this path for you. Journey in the direction of where the sun rises, following where the mountains rest. Seek the stones that stand along your path and think the same thoughts as you did before, for safety, for protection, and they too will guide you. Return this scroll to its resting place, for those that would later need to see." Finished reading, Xet looked at Baous. "I think the stones whoever wrote this is talking about only works with you too."

"Makes sense," Baous agreed. "Go on Xet, put it back." Nodding, the sorcerer gently put it back as Baous lifted the lid back into place. A firm push by Xet confirmed it sealed.

"We found a lead. We actually have somewhere to go," Baous' surprise was reflected on everyone.

"And here I thought we were going to have to decipher some kind of cryptic message about rising moons over crystal ponds or something weird like that," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"I wonder why whoever wrote that needed to," Serhis commented. "That person knew no one was going to be here to guide anyone else that reached here, but why? Why would anyone come to this place as well?"

"Sounds to me like whoever came here also followed another trail," Rhasalis deduced. "Maybe we're picking up this trail in the middle, not at the tail end, though that doesn't tell us why they needed to follow it." They all thought on it, but there were no clues here say why. The only possibility of an answer was to follow where this trail ended.

"Filling this hole's going to be easier than digging it," Baous grunted as he lifted himself out again and helped Xet scramble up.

"Fill it back up? What for?" Iskdiwercaesin asked.

Baous shrugged. "Whoever wrote that message didn't want someone to read it as well since it was locked. It should stay hidden."

"Baous, that message is probably millennia old. No one's going to be looking for it aside from us."

"Still, I think we should," Baous replied.

Iskdiwercaesin sighed. "Fine, fine. It's not like I'm going to get any dirtier and no one's going to notice a big circle of dirt surrounded by the grass," he grunted as he started pushing the pile of earth back into the pit. It didn't take nearly as much time to fill it as to dig it, but by the end of it they were all covered in a layer of dirt. "There had better be a river or something along the way," he said.

Baous shook himself, a dust cloud coming off his fur before he got back into the wagon along with everyone else. Turning the horses east, they searched for the stone markers.

The first stone wasn't hard to find, it was shaped like a small cone and it was barely outside the remains of the settlement. As Baous touched the stone, faint glyphs appeared at its base while an ethereal line of light shone from the tip of the stone, still eastwards, but in a specific direction. The next stones were further off, each one getting farther from the next. They had to mark the direction of the light on the map to make sure they didn't accidentally miss the next one and going straight past. For three days they rode the length of the Ceritun Plains, until they reached the outside of another forest that stood in their path.

Baous looked worried as he touched the stone they had found. "It's going to be hard going in a straight line in here."

Iskdiwercaesin shrugged. "Whoever made these probably didn't have a forest in their way. It might have sprouted up after all the work on the markers were done."

"We don't have many options. We'll stay as accurate as we can," Serhis looked at their compass now that they need to focus on their direction. Nudging Baous, they drove into the forest.

An hour passed. Then two. By three hours was when they became increasingly concerned that they were lost.

"It's hard to see anything with all these trees in the way," Rhasalis said from the right side of the wagon. She and Serhis were looking in that direction while Xet and Iskdiwercaesin watched the left.

"Should we head back and find the last stone again? We might have better luck tomorrow and it's getting dark," Serhis asked. Though they could travel the world in the dark, the horses couldn't and might trip over a root or run right into a tree if they tried.

Baous' ears flicked and turned. "Wait... water. I hear running water." As he pulled the horses to a stop, the others could hear the churning of water somewhere ahead, the sound bouncing between the trees.

"A river. Nice," Iskdiwercaesin smiled. "We can set up camp near there. That way, I can finally wash and get a nice swim." Blotches of brown covered his green scales, even after three days.

"Perhaps if we follow the river a little, we might find another stone marker. It would make sense for whoever made them to put it near there," Rhasalis noted.

Making their way through the trees, they reached the side of a river that passed through the forest. It was deep and wide. If they had need to cross it, they would have to look elsewhere for shallower waters. Heading upriver, they only had to go ten minutes before Rhasalis was proven right. A cone shaped stone sat near the banks of the river, one side covered in moss and vines.

"I guess we weren't going in smooth line as we had hoped," Serhis sighed as he put the compass into his pack.

"It's alright. We can find out where to go from here now, but we'll set up camp here and go in the morning," Baous brought the wagon to a halt and went to the stone. At first, it reacted just as the previous ones did, but where they expected to see a line of light, they instead saw a sphere at the tip of the stone. "Huh?" Baous touched the stone again as the light faded, only to receive the same result. "It's not showing me where to go next," he said worriedly.

"Maybe we're at the end of the trail?" Xet suggested.

"Can't be. There isn't a settlement here or signs of any ruins," Rhasalis pointed out.

"It could be that the forest grew over everything," Iskdiwercaesin shrugged. "Or maybe it's because the next marker has been destroyed and that's why it's not pointing to anything."

"Let's look around first," Serhis said as he hopped off the wagon. They combed the area, looking for signs of another marker or signs of a settlement. A little further upriver, they encounter a waterfall and cliff that was impassible to most of them. Serhis flew over and inspected a bit more, but he saw nothing. Iskdiwercaesin jumped into the river to swim to the other side, as well as to wash himself clean. When he returned, he said he saw nothing on the other side either.

"I even checked behind the waterfall. I'd have been stupid not to do something so obvious," he said.

Serhis sighed wearily as he landed. "I haven't found anything else from above. The trees are blocking most of everything as well," he said as he went to the wagon. "Let's set up camp. We can look again in the morning. It's getting late and we're not going to be so sharp at spotting anything if we're all tired."

Camp was set and firewood was quickly found, dinner made and was quickly consumed. As they sat around the fire to rest, Serhis went over to Baous.

"How are you holding up?" Baous asked as the little kobold got near.

"I should be the one asking you that. All this searching and we've appeared to have run into a dead end," Serhis said as he sat down next to him. "Getting worried?"

"A little," Baous acknowledged, "but we're not completely lost yet. I mean, we found that chest back in the village and it was hidden. It could be that we've got to search a little more here, maybe what we're looking for is also hidden."

"What? We've got to dig more?" Iskdiwercaesin groaned from across the fire.

"I didn't say that. Well, at least I don't think we have to," Baous was unsure. "It isn't that I'm thinking about though. I keep wondering what they were running from. Why did they need to leave their home? What made them have to hide their trail to safety?"

Serhis had thought on those same questions as well. So far, he had no answers. "Perhaps we'll find clues about that as well in our search."

As they prepared their tents and put out the fire, Rhasalis went around to everyone. She appeared to be offering hints on how to set the tents or giving pointers, but as she reached Serhis, her voice dropped to a low whisper as she finished giving her advice. "Something's out there. Watching us. Actively observing." Casually, she walked away, acting no stranger than normal. Serhis understood quickly what she was doing. She didn't want to let their watcher know they had been spotted. Crawling in to his tent, he didn't take off his armor like he usually did. Instead he sat still and loaded his crossbow. Baous came into the tent, their eyes meeting and acknowledging that he also knew and sat next to Serhis, war hammer at the ready.

Soon they heard the whispers of movement. Footfalls on soft grass that would have normally gone unheard if they hadn't been actively listening. As those footfall came closer to the edge of their camp, a loud shout was heard as a word of Draconic was yelled into the dark, soon followed by a blinding flash of light outside their tents.

"Gotcha!" Xet shouted as he rushed out of his tent, the others quickly swarming out of theirs.

Pointing his crossbow at the figures in the dark, three of them, their hands over their eyes as they tried to see, Serhis yelled in Common, "who you?! What you want with us?!"

The figures pulled their hands away from their faces. What Serhis and the others saw stopped them from using their surprise to the fullest. They were canine kobolds, Baous' kobolds. Their sight returning to them, the three stood next to each other, preparing to be attacked, their spears pointed outward, their teeth bared and growling.

"Wait, wait, stop!" Baous shouted to them. "We don't want to fight!" The three's growling stopped, but they kept their spears turned outward. Baous relaxed as he put down his war hammer. "Look, I don't want to fight. I want to talk to you, I've been looking for you."

Serhis also lowered his crossbow. Rhasalis put her rapier back in its sheath. As for Xet and Iskdiwercaesin, as long as either of them could open their mouths, there was no way for them to be any less dangerous. Iskdiwercaesin preferred it that way.

One of them held the spear upwards, away from them, and the other two followed. He was likely their leader, Serhis thought. Then, the supposed leader spoke, using his hand to gesture as well as making short barking and whining noises as he talked in an unfamiliar language.

"Uh, this might be a problem. Xet? Can you help here?" Serhis said.

"Naturally. Renthisj," Xet repeated the word to the whole group, focusing his attention on each of them. The canine kobolds were alarmed at Xet's behavior, but they didn't attack.

"Can you understand what we're saying now?" Baous asked as Xet finished.

"... we can," the leader answered. "Now, answer my question. Who are you? What tribe are you from? What are you group of strangers doing here?"

"That's three questions, but we might as well answer to humor you," Iskdiwercaesin wisecracked.

"My name is Baous Winterstone. These are my friends, they helped me to get here," he put his hand on his chest and with his other to gesture in an arch to the kobolds and dragon. "I don't have a tribe. I came here to look for others like me and I did it!" he could barely contain his excitement.

"No tribe, hmm?" the leader looked at Baous. "Your only reason for coming here was to find us?"

"Well, I don't know if I do have a tribe. There are others around here, right? Can I see them? How many are there? Where do you live? How long have you been living in this forest?" The torrent of questions stopped as the leader held up a hand.

"Some of those are sensitive questions. Is that the only reason you've come here? To find us?"

"Yes. You see, Baous was orphaned at a young age," Serhis said to them. "He's lost a lot. Recently, we've been learning about the past and what has been happening to your people. Aside from that, we know little about you."

The canine kobolds looked at Serhis, Xet, and Rhasalis strangely. They had likely never seen reptilian kobolds before. "And what are you doing with him? What's your reason for helping him?"

"He's my friend. That's the only reason we need," Serhis said. Iskdiwercaesin huffed. "Uh, I don't speak for all of us."

"What do we do?" one of the other kobolds said to the leader. "We can't just bring them in with us."

"Huh? Why can't you?" Baous asked.

"This is a matter for the elders," the leader said to the other kobold. "You will remain here until a decision has been reached and you will not follow us as we leave. We will be back in the morning to tell you of their decision," he said to Baous.

"A- alright," Baous said with uncertainty. The three turned and disappeared behind the trees, leaving as quickly and as quietly as they had come. Staring in the open darkness, Baous stared at where they had left. "I found them, I found them," he repeated to himself, unbridled joy and relief in his voice.

"Yeah, but they didn't look happy to see us," Iskdiwercaesin noted. "It sure sounds like they're a secretive bunch. I wonder what they would have done if we hadn't surprised them first? So, now that you've found them, what are you going to do next?"

"I- I don't really know," Baous said, his mind jittery from excitement. "I can ask around. Maybe someone here knew my birth parents, I could ask what they were like if this is the same group they came from." The last sentence was with a touch of sadness, but the relief drowned out most of it.

"I'm more concerned about their decision," Rhasalis said. "Like Iskdiwercaesin said, they seem secretive and wary of others." Serhis was suddenly reminded of the bestiary's writings on the matter, of how they were similar in behavior to reptilian kobolds. "The swiftest option in keeping their secrecy might be to kill us."

"They wouldn't do that, would they?" Xet said in alarm. "We just got here and we have Baous with us. We don't even know where they were heading."

"I'm saying it's a possibility. We know they are here, somewhere, and that might be enough. They might also welcome us with open arms if they let us in," she shrugged. "I don't know how these elders of theirs work."

"We can go back to sleep. They said they'd be back in the morning," Iskdiwercaesin said as he shuffled back into his tent. "They can also come back a little earlier to kill us all," he said in deeper voice to creep the others out.

"I'll put traps in the best ambush points of our camp. If they're coming back to talk to us, they won't even come near them," Rhasalis said as she went to set leg snares and alarm chimes.

As the others finished and went back to their tents, Serhis opened the tent flap and noticed that Baous wasn't following. "Baous? Are you okay?"

"I don't think I can go to sleep now, I'm too excited," Baous said. "I thought we were going to have to search more, a lot more, maybe even years. But I found them here, I found them," he laughed and howled into the night sky, prompting Iskdiwercaesin to shout for Baous to quiet down.

Serhis couldn't help but be infected by Baous' joy. "Don't get too excited then, we still have to find out what happens tomorrow."

Baous nodded, then his mood markedly shifted. "You don't think that what Rhasalis said might be true, do you? That they would kill us to keep a secret?"

"I... don't know," Serhis answered. "They're keeping themselves a secret, that's for certain, but who are they keeping from? But I don't think they'd do that. After all, you're here with us, that will change things. Not a warm a welcome as you expected?"

"Not really. I had no idea what to expect at all," Baous said.

"We really should be getting to sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and we can't stay up all night," Serhis said.

"Yeah, and keeping everyone else up too!" they heard Iskdiwercaesin yell from inside his tent.

Serhis and Baous laughed a little before they went in their tent. Hopefully, what they would wake up to wasn't the sound of an alarm, but of the kobolds peacefully entering the camp to allow them entrance. As Serhis curled up in his bedroll, he offered a prayer to Bahamut in thanks for any aid he gave in the search, then his thoughts faded into a dream.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Serhis woke to warmth.

Opening his blinking eyes, he stared up into the skies above with trees surrounding his view, felt that he was laying upon a large flat stone, and the sun shone on him from the clear skies. The light hurt his eyes and he averted his gaze from looking directly up. Turning, he felt his wings brushing against the stone as he stood.

How long was I asleep? Serhis thought. Everything around him seemed unfamiliar, but at the same time, this was home. Home?

Now on his feet, he listened to the noises around him. Birds and insects chirped and sang around him, the sound of running water could be heard at a far off distance, echoing though the trees. Stepping off the large stone and onto the cool grass, Serhis felt as if today was going to be strange. His house was near the river. Going forward, as he went through the forest, he still kept his eyes out for herbs and plants he knew were medicinally useful. There might be visitors today.

Even though he had wings, he felt that if he tried to fly for too long, he would tire himself out, so he stayed on the ground and walked. As he traveled the forest paths, he could begin to hear more than just the water. Sounds of movement, people talking, laughing and shouting. Passing though the trees, he saw his house.

Outside where two creatures just like him, small and scaly, but without wings or golden scales. His hatch mates were out today, along with a small host of kobold children, the little canines scampering around and watching the two. Rhasalis was tumbling though the air, landing on the ground in a tight little ball and bouncing around, giving quite a show of acrobatics to her audience, wowing them and receiving cheers. She was supported by Xet, who did little fireworks during her act, and during one of her more complicated flips, shot a ball of fire up into the air, making it explode as she reached the top of the arc. This impressed the kobolds as they clapped and hollered. Xet and Rhasalis took a bow, their act finished, and as they looked up, they saw him coming their way.

"Hi there Serhis! Enjoy the show?" Xet shouted to Serhis as he crossed the open field.

"He's probably been out picking herbs again," Rhasalis said between gasps as she sat down on the grass, taking a rest after her complicated set of tumbles.

"I haven't found any yet," Serhis answered.

The kobold children gathered around him, looking in awe at his golden scales and wings. "Wow! This one's different from the others." "Do you think he can fly?" "Of course he can fly, why else would he have wings." "Are you sure he's a he? Remember the other one, when you said he, she said she."

"I'm a he," Serhis answered, a little puzzled by all the questions. There were four of the kobold children, two males and two females. Why would they need to ask that? They surely would have heard of the healer, the inventor, and the magician. Then again, he didn't recall children ever visiting their home before.

"Children!" A loud bark rang out over the field, scaring the children stiff and making the scaly ones turn to face the sound. "I told you that you weren't allowed here," a frumpy looking kobold female came marching down the hill towards them.

"It's Nana!" "Run away!" The four bolted and scampered away with further mischief in voice and mind.

"Come back here!" the kobold called Nana tried to chase after them, but in vain. Soon, four little tails disappeared into the brush and left the woman fuming. She turned to look at the three hatch mates, but didn't say a word. Oddly, she seemed a little frightened.

As they looked at one another, they heard a high pitched whine from the bushes. "Ow! Owchie! Ahh!" "Oh no! Uhap's hurt!" "Owwie! A thorn branch scrapped my paws!"

Nana sighed irritably as she went to the rustling bushes. "You bunch better come over here! Let me see it," she demanded as she stood in front of the bushes. There were a few seconds of silence, as if the children were deciding amongst themselves whether to accept the injury on one of their own or get help while enduring the wrath of their exasperated caretaker.

Four little kobolds slowly made their way out of the brush, the last one with numerous scratches on his hands and feet. Nana let out a tired sigh, "not again Uhap. Look at yourself, you're a mess. Come along, I'll get the bandages and salves."

"I think I can be of assistance," Serhis said as he walked towards them. All of them appeared to draw back a little, but as Serhis held out his claw to the one called Uhap, the little kobold looked skeptically at the lizard as he grasped the claw. As he did so, Serhis felt his hand close around a small, circular pendant, and willed for the a small bit of power to heal the scratches. The numerous but tiny scrapes healed and closed as if they never happened, making the young kobolds ooh and ah as they watched.

"Whoa. Cool!" Uhap felt his arms and legs. "I thought only those stuffy druids could do that! Are you one?"

Serhis felt confused at the question. "I... don't think so," he answered. He knew he was a healer, that was for sure, but instead of drawing his abilities from nature, he felt... he looked down at the pendant in his hands. A platinum star on a blue background. He had had this pendant for as long as he could remember, he knew he needed it to perform his healings, but it didn't feel that the pendant itself was the thing that gave him the energy to do so. It was a question he had yet to answer.

"Thank you," a voice interrupted his line of thought. It was from the smallest kobold in the bunch, a young male with a brown coat and dark black streaks on his arms and legs.

"It's no problem. If you ever get hurt, you can always come to me," Serhis said.

"Hmph. We've been here long enough. You have chores to do little ones, so you better follow me," Nana said, receiving groans and whines of complaint. "Come on, go. And no running!" the kobolds made their way down another forest path. Serhis, Xet, and Rhasalis waved goodbye, then went about their business.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They had been here for as long as they could remember. They had been raised here since the kobolds found them ten years ago and gave them a place to stay and regularly traded with them for their skills and services. It wasn't a big place, it would accommodate one kobold comfortably and two if they needed to squeeze in, but for these three, it was fitting. The kobolds didn't know what species they were, so they simply called them 'reptiles' and left it at that. Serhis' skills at healing were always appreciated, and while he could only do so a limited times for day, his herbal salves and remedies were also in demand. Rhasalis mainly was in her workshop, making traps for the hunters and strange contraptions for herself, and at odd times would make toys for the children. She was more commonly known as the "Toymaker" to the children than the "Inventor". Serhis would at times aid her in her more complicated endeavors, but most of the time he was in the woods gathering herbs. As for Xet, he was also in the same workshop with Rhasalis most of the time, but instead of mechanical devices, he had glass bottles and labeled vials, using his skills at alchemy to make assorted items for interested customers. At other times, he was requested to give a lecture on how his magic worked, how he practiced at making it better, and sometimes would demonstrate to a group of kobold mages that came to their home. It was a simple life here, nestled in the woods next to a river, but they didn't know much about the world beyond their horizons, except that there were dangerous beings beyond their forests, beings that weren't explained to them and were regularly used to frighten the younger kobolds. Personally, Serhis knew nothing about whether this danger was real or simply as a means to spook the children into behaving. Real or not, Serhis felt as if there should be more out there than just danger, but he had a life here and had no reason to leave it.

Why do some things feel out of place?

"I'm going to the river guys," Serhis said before he left the house later that afternoon. Rhasalis said goodbye, but Xet had to keep silent. He didn't want to upset the mixing compound he was holding. Closing the door behind him, Serhis walked towards the river, the setting sun ahead of him as the afternoon light marked his path. He could see the water as it flickered in the light, hear the distant waterfall in the distance.

Why do I feel so uneasy whenever I hear that sound?

Serhis shook it off. Maybe it was the image of him falling into the water that made him anxious, it was a baseless fear. Besides, there was someone there to make sure that didn't happen.

As he reached the banks of the river, he saw the long green dragon resting on the shore. The dragon was known as Iskdiwercaesin, a wyrmling they found almost five years ago, born with stunted wings and never knew flight. The dragon tended to be brash and seemed disdainful of any contact with others, but he had something of a rapport with the reptiles. For one, they all spoke the language of magic with ease to one another and it suited their mouths better than the language of the kobolds, but they usually didn't when the canines where around, it tended to make them uneasy.

"So, what do you want now?" Iskdiwercaesin said as he opened an eye to look at the approaching kobold. "I hope it's something interesting, it's been a boring day."

"Why? Would you like something to happen," Serhis asked as he looked out at the river.

"Nah. Better for me not to have to deal with any troubles at all," Iskdiwercaesin muttered as he closed the eye. It was hard to tell whether he was asleep or simply resting. Not really coming here for a conversation, Serhis sat next to him.

While the lone stone in the woods was perfect for his meditations, the river gave him a sense of wonder, despite his fears. As he looked to where the river flowed, he could see it as it traveled far off into the woods, cascading down the falls, then wind on through the rest of the forest and beyond the horizon. Maybe it was because of the fear, or despite of it, that made him want to stare out to the horizon.

"How long are you going to be here?" Iskdiwercaesin said irritably.

"Why? Don't enjoy my company?" Serhis asked.

"If you're going to come here, you might as well have something interesting to say. Otherwise, you can leave me alone."

"You could find somewhere else to sleep."

"Or, you could find someplace that isn't near me if you're going to just be staring all day," Iskdiwercaesin yawned and opened his eyes.

As they sat together at the banks of the river, they had a few random conversations. The weather, the shapes of the clouds in the sky, a few word games that entertained Iskdiwercaesin to no end. Serhis wondered what he usually did when no one else was around, he imagined it got boring staring out into the woods all day wasn't the thing for the dragon, but that was Iskdiwercaesin's task. For safety and for the food he received, Iskdiwercaesin would guard the banks of the river against any intruder, sink any ship that was not the kobolds and devour any creature that dared to cross those waters. Through all the years he guarded the river, no ship ever came. He was known as the "Guardian" to the kobolds.

The sun set and the dusk became a dusty orange, fading into a deep blue, then purple, then a near black. Serhis and Iskdiwercaesin finished their word games and bid each other a good night. As the wyrmling crawled into a small cave by the river, Serhis went back to the house, the lights inside lit as Xet was likely finishing his last mixture for the night as well as preparing their dinner. He was careful not to mix their dinner or the mixtures up. Sleep and dreams beckoned them soon enough and going to their large bed, slept in a degree of comfort.

This was how it was to be for the foreseeable future, a quiet life out of danger, out of sight. Yet for Serhis, who would stay up a while as his hatch mates slept, every night he would wonder why this comfort did not satisfy him, that there was something missing. These concerns faded in the need for sleep. Curling up in the soft fur blankets, Serhis drifted off into strange dreams. Dreams of lands far off, lands he didn't know or couldn't name, or faces and voices he swore he might remember. As dawn woke them and cast off the morning fog as much as the memories of the dreams he had, Serhis was always left wondering what they meant.

After eating breakfast, they prepared to go up the trail with their latest batch of trade goods. They had a wagon and horse to take them all their, but Serhis had difficulty driving up the trail. Even though he was the designated driver, he still wasn't used to handling the much larger animals after all this time. Heading through the forest trails, they went to where the kobolds lived.

Passing through the trees, they saw their destination ahead. A large wall completely covered in vines and leaves loomed ahead. It almost looked like the plants had grown that way instead of having crept up the ancient stone walls. Guards patrolling the tops, wary of any intruder. Gates of stone and wood opened for them, molded so well that a passing glace would not recognize them as gates at all. Passing through the gates, they entered the kobold city.

Long white stone structures spread out ahead of them, the ancient city was as much natural as built as the trees rose high above the buildings, long branches covering the sky above as roots and vines curled around homes and shops. The buildings were built with simple lines and clean facades with open windows with flat bottoms and arches on top. Every inch of the ground not claimed by a large root or plant was paved in the same white stones, smooth and almost seamless as they covered the ground. Serhis, Rhasalis, and Xet had entered near where the river passed and would take the road that stretched next to it so that they could listen to the water passing and look at the scenery, passing the stone bridges that crossed over and looking at the structures around them. The stark white was often accompanied with the greenery of plants covering the roofs and creeping up the sides of the houses, long moss hanging from on high and flowers blooming from the tops of the buildings, adding warmth and color, though some of them were completely abandoned and the whole place overgrown. Others were tall and rose up above like spires, brass fixtures decorating the sides as it nestled next to a larger tree, shielding part of it from sight. The buildings were spread out in this city, there was no crowding of structures, but instead there were large gardens and parks. They made their way to the largest one, the market for the city.

As they went, they drew stares. Some of wonder, some of fear. Serhis didn't think too much on it, they were an abnormality in this land of kobolds. The only way to make things stranger would be if they had brought along Iskdiwercaesin as well. The kobolds that sold their wares here usually spread out a blanket and put their items on display, the branches from the trees above providing them shade as they sat. For Serhis, Xet, and Rhasalis, they parked the wagon and tethered the horses to a tree, then laid out their own wares on the wagon. Few were willing to approach their wagon for a time, but soon one or two kobolds would approach to see what was being sold. Their odd behavior today puzzled Serhis, but any more thoughts on the matter were put aside as they set to bartering. Gold and silver mattered little here, the only thing they were worth was simply as a token of how much effort they represented. If coins were at hand, they haggled on items available as some of the merchants here were also interested in purchasing.

Hunters would line up to buy Rhasalis' traps. The snares she made were fairly more intricate and durable than any others they had and the hunters usually traded meat and skins for them. She was also fairly popular with the children, though not as much with the parents when the little kobolds began asking to buy toys. She had made little wheeled wagons, puzzle blocks, and contraptions that sprung up when wound, but the most popular item were the painted miniature kobolds. She carried some paint with her to the market and whenever a child would want to buy one, she would paint it on the spot, adding their fur color and markings so that each toy became that child's own. A few of the adults also asked if she could make miniatures of them.

As for Serhis and Xet, business was a fair degree slower. Any injuries were swiftly taken care of and special alchemical items weren't in high demand, so after a brief rush at first, the two kobolds sat around with little else to do.

"Hey Xet, I'm going to look around for a bit," Serhis said as he stood up from the wagon. "Can you handle stuff here?"

"Sure. Here," Xet handed him a small pouch of money, most of it the profits they made today. "Let's see... we're starting to run out of vegetables and oats for the horses. I can't think of anything else we might need."

"I'll see what there is," Serhis said as he went off.

In this park and market, there wasn't much else besides basic supplies. Quickly gathering some produce and dropping it off back at the wagon, Serhis began to wander around, browsing to see if anything would catch his attention. Most of the time, he was the center of attention. As he went more towards the edge of the park and finding nothing that he or his hatch mates would want, he had the feeling he was being watched. Turning around, sure enough, he looked upwards and saw four pairs of eyes watching him from up on a tree.

"Can I help you?" Serhis asked curiously. It was the same four kobolds from yesterday, and again without their caretaker.

"More like can we help you?" the one he helped earlier said. The four began to climb down the tree, but not before checking around.

"Uhap?" Serhis pointed to him.

"Yep. That's my little brother," a slightly larger female with a similar fur coat as him said as they approached. "I'm Gaupa."

"Hey, you're only my bigger sister because you were born five minutes before me," Uhap complained.

"Anyway," Gaupa put her little brother's head in an arm lock, "that's our little brother Haut over there," she pointed to the smallest member of their group. It looked like he was the runt of the litter, but there was a look in his eyes that dared others to make an issue of it. "And our friend Auin," she pointed to the other female of their group, a kobold that was probably a little older as they were, but with a pure black coat of fur and eyes as yellow as Serhis'. The way she looked at him reminded Serhis a lot of Rhasalis when she met someone new, skeptical and guarded. The three siblings had a mix of brown and black fur, the black markings were somewhat random, Gaupa had a streak running down her muzzle and tail, Uhap had a patch running across his shoulders and back, while Haut had black patches on his arms and legs, but they all had blue eyes in common.

"Well, thank you for the offer, but what would I need help with doing?" Serhis asked.

"Reaching high shelves?" Uhap snickered a little before he started gasping for air as Gaupa tightened her grip.

"Smartass," Gaupa let him struggle a bit before she loosened her grip.

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed. "Anyway, he'd probably fly up to get stuff. Well, we could show you around the city. There's got to be places you've never seen before. Heck, sometimes we find places we haven't found before."

"What about your caretaker? Wasn't her name Nan-" Serhis was cut off with lots of shushing and waving of hands.

"Don't say her name! She sometimes can pop up out of nowhere when you say her name," Haut looked around as if expecting her right at this moment. Serhis suspected it was more due to their caretaker noticing her name being said.

"You're not suppose to be here, are you?" Serhis inquired with a grin.

"Uh, well, maybe?" Haut muttered.

"It doesn't matter, we're here now and we're going somewhere else anyway," Uhap said in that logic of children that was both endearing and frustrating to parents everywhere.

"We can show you around. There's lot of places I know you can't have gone to before," Auin said with a grin.

As Serhis thought about it, he realized he didn't know this city as much as he should. He had only traveled in the commonly known areas, knew of only a few key places, but as for actually exploring the place, he had never done it. "I suppose I could look around. My hatch mates won't be going anywhere until much later today. But why do you want me to come along with you?"

"Because you're cool," Uhap said that as if it was the only reason he needed.

"And as a thank you for helping our brother," Haut added as he tugged on Serhis' arm so that they would go. With not much else to do, Serhis followed. "Can we ask a few things? Like how old are you?"

"I'm ten," Serhis said as he was pulled along.

"Whoa, you're as old as us?!" Haut exclaimed.

"But you're so small," Gaupa said.

Serhis shrugged, there wasn't much of an answer he could provide. Even though Haut was the runt of the litter, he still had almost half a meter of height advantage over Serhis. As they went out of the park and back onto the white stone streets, the bombardment of questions continued.

"Why do you have gold scales and wings? The other two don't have any at all," Gaupa asked.

"And what about that pendant around your neck, the one with the star? And the one that isn't a star?" Uhap asked.

"What do you eat? Worms and bugs?!" Haut giddily asked.

"One question at a time," Serhis tried to slow down the tide of curiosity, for what little it would do. "First, I don't know. I'm just born that way. I suppose it's like all of your fur markings."

"Yeah, but none of us have wings," Gaupa replied.

"But wouldn't it be so cool?! Can you fly with them though? Can we see? Can we see?" Uhap insisted.

"Maybe a little later, when I don't have anything else to answer."

"Aw. Well, then what about those pendants? I saw how you lifted up that star one and it made all my cuts go away. I thought only the druids could do that, and they use holly and mistletoe and other plants, but never something like that."

"I think it's almost the same thing," Auin said. "He using it to focus his thoughts and ask for help."

"Yeah, but what from? What kind of spirit? A star spirit?" Gaupa suggested.

Again, Serhis didn't have an answer. He could feel the power flowing through him as he used his spells, but they didn't originate from him. Perhaps a little of his own power, but most of it came from... elsewhere. "The North Star," Serhis said, both to himself and the children, but the meaning seemed just as distant. Somehow, he knew it was about the North Star.

"See, I was right!" Gaupa said. "How is it different from the druids? Is it weaker? Stronger?"

"It doesn't feel weak. I mean, nature is very powerful too at times, but also weak at times. I think it's just like you said, different," Serhis said.

"My turn, my turn," Haut insisted. "You're like a lizard, right? Does that mean you eat bugs? I saw a lizard eat a cricket and another eat a worm!"

"Don't be silly, you saw them taking some meat from the hunters in the market," Auin pointed out.

"I... think I've eaten bugs before," Serhis couldn't remember a time that he had to, but he recalled a taste.

"You do?! EWWWWW!" Haut squealed in disgust and delight.

"But I eat other things too. Fruits and vegetables, meat, bread, soup," Serhis said as he wondered where they were leading him to as they walked along the path next to the running river, passing by other houses and trees. "Where are we going first?"

"You'll see, you'll see," Gaupa replied unhelpfully.

"So you don't always eat bugs?" Haut asked.

"I'm pretty sure I can eat almost anything," Serhis said.

"Careful, he might even eat little kobolds if you bug him too much like a real bug, he looks like a tiny dragon," Auin teased Haut. "Anyway, it's my turn to ask something. You live outside the walls, right? What's it like out there? Only the hunters and the guards are allowed to go out of the forest."

"Hmm? But I've never been out of the forest," Serhis answered.

"Whaa?! You can fly though, you must have seen something out there," Uhap insisted.

Serhis shook his head. "Nope. Even if I flew very high, all I could see were the mountains, the forest, and the plains. There's not much out there."

"Couldn't you try flying over the mountain? Maybe there's something over it. Or if you flew a bit farther, you might see something else?" Auin said.

"I'm not that great of a flyer," Serhis shrugged. "If I fly for too long, I get really tired. If I tried to go over the mountain, the strong wind would tire me out even faster and I'd have to land. There are goblins in those mountains and I really wouldn't want to do that."

"But do you think that there's something over it?" she asked again.

It was difficult to say. As far as he knew, there was nothing over those mountains. He knew that there were suppose to be other races and species elsewhere in the world, he had read books about them, but they were suppose to be far away. Far, far away. Still, there was doubt. There would always be something more over the horizon. "Perhaps," he said hesitantly.

The kobolds look a little disappointed from the answers, but Haut perked up. "Maybe when he grows up more, he can grow up very big! He looks kind of like a dragon. That can be why he's so small, he hasn't grown up yet, and then he can carry us on his back when he flies!"

"Yeah, but don't dragons grow up very slowly too?" Uhap said. "By the time he's big enough to do that, we'd be old!"

"Uh, I don't think I'm going to get any bigger than this," Serhis said, stopping any further speculation.

"Really? Drat, I wanted to go flying too," Haut grumbled.

"I do know the dragon near the river though. He's five years old, but he's much taller than me," Serhis said.

"Really?! He can talk? And he's your friend? And, and, he's only five?!" Haut unleashed yet another torrent of questions.

"Yes. I can introduce you to him the next time all of you come to our house," Serhis said. "Uh, are you even allowed near our house? Your Na-"

"Don't say it!" the kobolds said in unison, waving their hands and frantically looking around.

"Well, she didn't want you near there."

"Yeah, but that's because she thinks you and the others are scary. We don't, and since you healed my cuts, you're even better," Uhap said. "Anyway, she says that it's dangerous out there by ourselves, but if we're with the Guardian, there's no way we'd be in any danger! We'd be safe, so we're doing exactly what she says."

Somehow, Serhis suspected that if he didn't want them to go out there to avoid trouble, he couldn't stop them. Especially when they started to make these sorts of arguments. Better to go along with it. "By the way, he doesn't like to be called the Guardian. His name is Iskdiwercaesin."

The kobolds tried to pronounce the name properly the first time without much success. "How do you say that again?" Gaupa asked.

"Iskdiwercaesin."

"How about we just call him Iskdi?"

Another faint hint of a memory came up. Again, he didn't know where or when, but it had meaning. "No, he really, really prefers to be called Iskdiwercaesin. Saying it short won't make him happy."

Again, they tried to pronounce his name. Again, anyone listening to them at moment would think they were babbling incoherently. Serhis helped them to say it right by each syllable, hoping that the next time they saw each other, they would remember. By that time, Gaupa had lead them away from the river and higher up a wooded hill that was teeming with trees, making it difficult to travel upwards as they went.

"We're here," she spun around in a flourish, spreading her arms out. "Welcome to our secret hideaway." It was an opening within the looming trees around them, a small glade that had a ray of light shining down from above into the shadows that the trees made with trinkets and toys littered the ground.

"From here, we can go anywhere we want without being found," Auin said.

"Even Nana doesn't know where this place is, so it's safe to say her name here," Haut snickered.

"But you have to promise never to tell anyone else about it, okay? Promise? Promise?" There was a serious tone in Uhap's words.

"I promise," Serhis agreed. "But why did you bring me here then?"

Gaupa strode over to one of the trees, felt around the trunk, and lifted up a rope that was almost the same color as the wood. With a grin, she tugged hard and the tree itself began to change, branches coming out, shaping themselves flat, and forming a spiral around the tree until it reached the top, as if making a long staircase upwards. "This is our secret base," she said with pride.

As the kobolds led him upwards, Serhis craned his head upwards to see what was at the top. "How did you find this place? I can't imagine any of the grown-ups giving something like this."

"You'd be right about that," Auin chuckled. "I found this place by digging through my grandfather's old chest. It had all this stuff in it. There was this really great helmet inside on the top and I wanted to keep it, but it was too big for me so I put it back. Then there was all these papers, boring stuff like how much food was at one place or where a bunch of people were coming or going, but then I saw something about this tree."

"We had to do a lot of looking before we found it. Two weeks!" Haut said.

"It was so worth it," Gaupa said. "Now we have a place of our own and no one can tell us what to do here." They reached the top of the stairs. Serhis saw a circular platform with the trunk growing through the center, spreading out above to form a roof. Random objects were scattered about. There were chairs and tables that looked like they belonged to a set, but everything here looked different from one another. Scribbles and drawings made from charcoal chunks scattered one part of the platform, wooden swords and a mat of straw on another, but what was truly impressive wasn't anything material here, but the view. From here on the hill, they could see the city as it mixed with the forest, white and green and brown in a flurry of color, mixed with the sparkling blue of the river. If Serhis had tried to fly up above and look down, all he would see would have been the trees, but at this angle, he could see the city in its entirety as long spires rose up above next to the trees. He could imagine the brass fixtures shimming in the morning light, but he wanted to see it for himself when it was time. His next question was about to be what this place was for, but the answer had provided itself here, this was an observation platform.

"Wicked, isn't it?" Uhap smirked. "I saw your jaw drop."

Feeling a little self-conscious, Serhis walked onto the platform. "Thank you for showing me this."

"Don't thank us yet, we're not even done taking you to all the places we know," Gaupa replied.

"I'm amazed a place like this wasn't found earlier," Serhis looked at the city below.

"Like you saw, you can't even tell something is up here from the ground, the leaves block the view. If anyone was looking here from the city, it'd be really hard to find even if you knew where you were looking. Believe me, I've tried," Auin said.

"Of course, we don't have that problem when we want to see something," Gaupa held up a spyglass and grinned. It looked old and the lens was scratched, but it looked usable enough.

"Come on, come on, we've still got other places to show you," Haut pointed in the other direction, into the mass of leaves and branches.

"We have to go back down first, don't we?" Serhis asked.

"Nope," Gaupa said as she went to the center of the platform and flipped a lever, one that had a rope tied to it. The stairs that went around the tree folded themselves back in and no trace of them remained.

"Look that way," Haut kept pointing at the same direction. Looking closely, Serhis only saw a long and thick branch extending from the platform. Then he noticed how it kept going into the next tree and realized that they were connecting to one another. The branch had intertwined with another branch of the tree, its surface was flat and broad, making a bridge between the tops of the trees. Whether this molded bridge could be considered natural would be a discussion in semantics.

As the kobolds led Serhis further along, he saw how this tree had no platform at the center, but it connected to one further along, and presumable this would continue to their destination. "Where are we going this time?"

"Since you promised to keep it a secret, I think we can tell you now. We're going to the Elder's place," Gaupa said.

"What?!" Serhis had never met the Elders before. They were the elected leaders of the kobolds and he seriously doubted they'd be pleased to find any of them running around. "There will be guards around the place. We'd likely get caught!"

"Nah, you don't have to worry. It's not like we're doing something bad," Uhap said.

"Most of the guards are around the place, looking outside. They're usually bored out of their heads or not that smart, since almost nobody comes up here without some sort of reason, so they'll keep staring outside unless we make too much noise, but when we get there, we'd already be inside," Auin said.

Figuring that protesting would be useless, Serhis let himself get dragged along with the gang of kobolds. If Xet and Rhasalis had come with him as well, they'd probably be in their element. He thought that if there was a next time to all this, he'd take his hatch mates along for the ride. As they went along the branch bridges, they went upwards the forest hill with ease. If they had tried going up from the ground, they would have had a much tougher time. There was an actual road up the hill to reach the Elders, but Serhis didn't know if that would be any faster than the treetops. They saw their destination, a walled area at the top of the hill.

"I don't know about this. Won't we get in trouble if we get caught?" Serhis voiced his doubts.

"Yeah, if we get caught," Uhap smirked. "We don't. Usually."

"What are we going there for though? What could be interesting there? I imagine that if I were invited in by the council, I could see it without all the trouble."

"You could, but then you wouldn't see the stuff that the others usually don't see," Gaupa said.

"So we're going to a place that is normally restricted even to invited guests?"

"I guess you could say that." Somehow, Serhis was not encouraged by this. "Stop being a worry-wart, where's your spirit of adventure?" Gaupa made a dramatic pose as she pointed at the sky.

That was enough to convince Serhis. It wasn't like the possibility of getting caught would stop him, especially if he was with Xet. Quietly, they went on the bridge over the wall, careful not to alert the guards stationed underneath. Once they had made their way across, Gaupa pulled another lever and again the tree they were in extended stairs. When they all got to the bottom after racing down the steps, she slammed her fist into a section of the tree and the steps receded.

Looking around, Serhis found they had entered what looked to be a garden. Flowers bloomed in abundance here, filling his nostrils with their scent. The garden looked to have been carefully tended and not just with flowers. Herbs and medicinal plants also grew here, the flowers and plants arranged in a swirling pattern that reminded Serhis of curling clouds that blew across a mountain while small channels of water that flowed between the rows gave the impression of water churning in a stream. At the end of the pattern was a patch of bare dirt with no plants or grass.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Auin asked Serhis.

He nodded. "The other gardens were a lot more simple than this. It doesn't look finished though."

"That's because it's not supposed to be. Every year the next part of the garden is plowed under while seeds are planted in the part that used to have nothing in it. It's suppose to show something like how everything grows and comes back. There's this huge festival whenever it happens and it's a big deal what's planted in the new spot. See how there are a lot of different plants, but each patch is different from the other? That's what the elders of that year decided to plant at the time, sort of like showing what the Elders wanted to happen in the new year," she said.

"The last festival was great! We had lots of meat to eat, there was this really sweet pumpkin pie, some honey and jam, and custard!" Haut salivated from the memory, his tongue dangling from his mouth.

Serhis recalled the last harvest festival, remembering how he was helped in serving up plates of food and at times even cooking some of it, but for some reason he couldn't recall any specific faces or names. It felt as if the whole day had been one big rush. Odder still, he felt compelled to set up snares at home near the windows.

"Hey, there's the Elder's building over there," Uhap interrupted Serhis' recollections. It wasn't far away from the garden and looked as if was built from the same white stone as the others, but this one looked far more aged, the stone weather worn and the whole building was almost completely covered in vines and plants in the same molded way that the tree bridges were. The center was in shape of a cylinder that turned into a cone halfway up with the plants acting as both supports and decoration.

"I wonder if they're in council right now," Serhis said as he looked, then back to the garden. "I hope we're not going to try to get in there."

"No, we'd get caught for sure then. We're going to stay outside and look around," Gaupa said.

"Huh, he's not here," Haut said.

"Who's not here?" Serhis asked.

"Our other newest friend. We met yesterday, just like you."

Noticing some movement near the edge of the Elder's building, Serhis pointed towards a kobold that was coming into view. "Is that him?"

"Yep," Gaupa jumped up and down waving her hands, since shouting would have attracted the guards. The other kobold noticed the movement and walked towards them.

He looked a little older than the others, perhaps by two or three years. He had mostly all brown fur, though his near his muzzle was a patch of lighter fur while his ear tips were darker. He was dressed in a simple wool shirt and pants, but the way he moved was almost like he was expecting to wear something heavier. He waved as he approached.

"Serhis, this is Baous," Gaupa introduced their newest friend to their slightly less newest friend as they got closer together.

"Hello there. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance," Serhis said to the kobold.

"Hi there Serhis. You sound rather smart. Where did you find him?" Baous asked the others.

"We met him yesterday, just like you. We went outside the walls and found him near that old house after we said goodbye to you," Gaupa said. "We saw Baous yesterday when we came here. We hadn't seen someone almost as old as us get to go around here," she said to Serhis.

"He can do spells and things, he healed up all the scratches I got when I accidentally ran into a prickle bush," Uhap showed off his arms and legs. "There's also two more of them, they're in the market right now. They don't have wings and gold scales like him, but one can make really neat toys and do tricks and the other can spells too, the explodey kind!" he threw out his hands like a big boom.

"And they eat bugs!" Haut exclaimed, still not letting go of that trait.

"We're showing him around," Auin said.

"Okay, but what are you doing here? Did you sneak in again?" Baous asked.

"Yeah, but we didn't get caught last time either. Anyways, I thought you might get bored, and we wanted to get to know you both better too. Baous helps take care of the gardens here," Gaupa explained to Serhis.

"Alright, but if you get caught, it's not my fault," Baous said as he sat down in the grass as the noon day sun shined down. "But I don't mind having more friends too."

Everyone took sat down in the garden, eager to ask each other questions about one another, though most were directed towards Serhis and Baous. Baous wasn't only a caretaker in the gardens, he also took care of the horses when the druids were away, and was essentially an errand boy for them.

"So you know the druids here?" Serhis asked.

"Well, not really," Baous shrugged. "They're not my friends or anything."

"Do you what they're like?"

"Maybe a little. There's this one that's always giving me the creeps, he keeps watching everything I do. Most of the others just ask me to do stuff and nothing else. There's this one lady that's nice to me though, but I don't know that much about her."

"What do they do all day?" Uhap asked. "The only time I see them is when they come by to give medicine and stuff or when it's a festival and telling us what we have to do to make the next harvest not get worse."

"They get herbs sometimes when they need to make the medicine, but I'm doing most of that now. I see them talk to each other most of the time, mostly about the weather or how some of the trees are doing. Other times, they're talking to the trees themselves, but I can't hear if the trees are talking back. I think they are. They also talk to animals that come by, birds, squirrels, raccoons, deer, a lot of different animals. If there's nothing else to do, they just find a quiet place, sit down and close their eyes."

"Talking to the animals sounds neat. The trees too I guess, but sitting around doing nothing? Boring!" Uhap said.

"I think what Baous means is that they're meditating. I do that too when I want to concentrate. It helps when I want to figure something out that's confusing or difficult to understand to me. Otherwise, it's like trying to remember something and you're not sure what you forgot, but if you try too hard, it makes you forget even more. If I concentrate when meditating, sometimes it just comes to me, no problem at all," Serhis said.

"Huh. I guess that's alright. Still sounds boring though."

"Looks like I was right about you being smart. Are you a druid too? Uhap said you could do healing," Baous asked.

"No, I'm not a druid," Serhis answered, not sure what to say he was.

"Nope, but he uses that to do his spells. It's like he gets his powers from the stars," Haut pointed at the pendant.

"The North Star," Auin specified. "Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do that as well? Maybe he could teach us how, we don't have to be apprentices to the druids or the wizards, we can do our own spells as well."

Serhis shook his head. "I don't think it works like that. When I do my spells, it's as if I have to feel a certain way. It's like I want to do good, to make sure that others are going to do better because of what I do, to be kind. Or at other times, I just want to make the hurting stop, that I need to make something that's gone wrong right. When I do it right, I can almost feel as if something else feels that way through my spells. I... don't know how to explain it right. Did what I say make sense?"

"A little I guess," Auin scratched her head.

"By the way, what about your hatch mate? When he does magic, does he have to do that?" Uhap asked.

"No, what he does is different. The best way I can describe it is that he uses his will and concentrates."

"I suppose that's enough of that. We can ask him the next time we see him. What I want to know is what you do when you're not busy? What do you do for fun? You can't be busy all the time," Gaupa looked at Serhis and Baous.

"For fun? I usually play board games or practice with the guards when they're not busy as well or go to the old library and read a few books," Baous said.

"What? Don't you have any other friends that you can go play with when you're done?" Gaupa saw Baous shake his head. "We can't have that. How about when you're done today, you come play with us?"

"That'd be great," Baous nodded.

"What about you?" she said to Serhis.

"Well, I suppose I'm not busy today. You could come to our house," he said.

"Then you can show us the Guardian! Iskdiwacasin!" Haut said.

"Iskdiwercaesin," Serhis corrected him.

"The Guardian? Who's that?" Baous asked.

"You don't know? It's the wingless green dragon by the river next to Serhis' house! He lives with his hatch mates there. Don't you think it's cool that they have their own house, but they're as old as us? That means they can stay up as long as they want and make as lots of noise and don't have to worry about parents complaining about it," Haut said.

"Yeah, but they have to work too. That's the whole reason they were in the market today, selling stuff they had to work to make. I bet that isn't always fun," Auin said.

"It can be fun and a little exciting," Serhis commented.

"It'd be interesting to see this Iskdiwercaesin," Baous surprised Serhis since he pronounced the dragon's name correctly after only hearing it once.

"Can we watch what you do then? Maybe if we can do the same, we can make our own place with our own rules. I'd love to learn how to make my own toys that actually work like I want," Uhap pulled out the miniature of himself.

"We can't all learn how to make toys. If we do, Serhis' hatch mate won't be able to sell as many of her own," Haut said. "But I don't want to deal with looking at other people's blood and look down their throats when they're sick and icky stuff like that. Mixing potions from all those herbs might be fun though."

"You can come and watch, but don't touch the stuff there, okay?" Serhis warned them. He neglected to mention why, telling them that some of the things might be explosive might encourage them, so he hoped that them being friends was reason enough.

"Alright, but you're still going to show us that Guardian. After that, we can go and play games, maybe with the Guardian Iskdiwercaesin too," Gaupa got his name right this time.

They almost didn't notice the guard creeping up on them as they talked. "Hey! What are you bunch doing in here?! You know you're not supposed to be here."

"Uh oh. We're in trouble now," Gaupa muttered as the other fidgeted. The guard looked down reproachfully at them.

"Who's this? What is this thing doing in here?" the guard pointed at Serhis.

"Hey, I'm not a thing!" Serhis protested.

"Uhm, well, see, we're here because..." Gaupa stuttered and stalled, trying to think of another good reason.

"They're here because I invited them," Baous covered for them. "Serhis here knows a lot about herbs and stuff and I wanted to find out what I needed to do to make sure they grow well and what they can be used for. I didn't want to disturb the druids for those little things."

"When Baous asked me, my friends were with me, so I thought maybe I could teach them a few things while I was here. For example, this is a milfoil, or yarrow. It has a lot of names, and many more uses," Serhis pointed at a tall flowering plant in the garden. "Not only is it beautiful, but it has a medicinal use, and is used promote the healing of wounds when spells aren't available. At other times if you ingest it, it can lessen certain fevers and sicknesses. They are also used to flavor beer if hops aren't available. I haven't yet determined if drinking the beer means it also gets rid of the fever, but somehow I doubt it." The way he spoke was as if he was continuing a lecture that the guard had interrupted, directing his conversation towards their group and ignoring the guard as if he was a distraction, not someone who caught them someplace they weren't supposed to be.

The guard looked baffled, not used to being ignored. "... I suppose if he says you're allowed in, that's none of my concern. Wait, where's your caretaker? Where's Nana?"

A panicked expression spread through all the faces of the small gang. "Uh, we haven't seen her around. We thought she might like it if we learned some stuff from our new friends," Gaupa said.

"I'm going to have to find her then. When you're done, make sure you check with me when you leave," the guard said before he left.

"Uh oh. We better get out of here before he comes back with Nana," Haut said nervously, freely saying their caretaker's name now that it was certain she was coming their way.

"We can't. That guy knows we're in here now and he's going to let his other guard friends know we're here. They're going to be watching us and they're going to know something is wrong if we get out without them knowing. We can't let them find out about the hidden way we come in," Gaupa said.

"So we're stuck here until Nana comes. This is gonna suck," Uhap pouted.

"Ah, but we're invited here by Baous, remember," Auin smirked deviously. "It's not like we snuck in. He and Serhis were helping to teach us important things about all the plants and the way the Elder's put the garden."

Serhis wasn't quite sure how to feel about deceiving their likely overworked caretaker. He kept his quiet as they straightened out their story.

"You said that's a milfoil, right?" Auin pointed at the same flower. "What can it do again?"

"It can be used to treat wounds by helping to seal a cut or ingesting it to reduce a fever. It can also stop nosebleeds if you stick it up your nose," the kobolds giggled at this, "but it can cause them too if you do it when it's not bleeding." From there, Serhis figured if they were going to make a deception, at least part of it would be the truth. He pointed to each part of the garden and recalled the name of most of the species of plants and some mushrooms, describing they're uses and applications, Baous helping as well as he explained more on how they grew and where, even giving a detailed way to describe their smell that Serhis lacked. The lesson wasn't boring when they told some of the unusual ways the plants could be used, the kobolds sometime asking questions themselves. They almost didn't notice when the guard showed up again, this time with a frustrated caretaker in tow. As they expected, Nana wasn't happy to see how her charges slipped away from her while she was handling the wash, but since she heard the detailed lecture as they walked towards them, she wasn't too mad about them learning something useful. It still didn't seem that she bought the whole tale though. As Serhis and Baous finished about the current plant, she told the group to come with her and thanked Baous and Serhis for looking after them, if rather pointedly and lacking in warmth. Gaupa whispered to them before they went, saying that their play time would have to wait tomorrow and that they would meet with Baous at the market then lead him to the hatch mates' house since he didn't know the way before running off to catch up with the others before Nana noticed.

Their little misadventure for the day concluded, Serhis bid farewell to Baous as he left, then went back to the market to his hatch mates. They had wondered where Serhis had wandered off to and he explained how he met the kobold children again, but didn't give specific details. He had made a promise that he wouldn't tell of their secret hideaway and the bridges and he intended to keep it, at least for a while. It was likely that as soon as they came over to their house tomorrow, they would be happy to tell the secret to his hatch mates. Until then, they picked up a few more goods, mostly wood and alchemical supplies before heading home.

The next week seemed to hold more excitement than a whole year of their lives. The kobolds came to their home each day, wanting to watch and see everything the hatch mates would do. Serhis then introduced them to Iskdiwercaesin, and as he thought, when they all tried to say his name, they all said different things at the same time, making it sound like a jumbled mess, although Baous seemed to have remembered it. They practically begged the green dragon to breathe fire for them, but he informed them that he could only breathe acid to their disappointment. When he demonstrated on a boulder nearby, they still cheered and yelled as they watched it dissolve a little. After hanging around the house and river for a while, the kobolds gathered their new friends and continued the tour from yesterday, bringing the hatch mates and dragon into the city and parts of the forest. Day after day, this went on, the hatch mates demonstrating their skills and talents while the kobolds brought them to locations that they would have never seen if they stayed on their regular paths and schedules. Some days, Nana would be waiting for them as they got home, other times they spent the whole day at the hideaway.

Gaupa, Uhap, and Haut were triplets, that much was obvious, though with a few differences in fur marking. Gaupa was technically the eldest of the three and liked to be the leader of their gang, but she had her soft side, occasionally given to flights of fancy and she looked out for her "little" brothers with a will. Uhap was the brazen one, having times where he acted before he thought, but so far his luck had held and nothing really bad had happened to him, or so he said. Between him and Gaupa, they had a contest for finding the most interesting things. Haut might have been the runt, but he had a fiery temper when someone brought it up or pushed him around too much, acting as if he had to be bigger and tougher to prove that just because he was the runt didn't make him weak. Iskdiwercaesin found that out when he noted that of the triplets that he was the smallest. It was a friendly wrestling match, mostly, it wasn't until Iskdiwercaesin tumbled into the river to dislodge the kobold when it ended. He and Auin were also the most prolific readers of gang and took delight in the word games that Serhis and Iskdiwercaesin had. Auin was actually the oldest of the group, being a year older than Gaupa. She certainly was the most sneaky of them all, devising ways to get them into places where they normally weren't supposed to go or finding more hidden places that others normally didn't go. Mischief was her pastime and she carried an assortment of objects that went with it; she had a slingshot, a bag of marbles, and a rough diamond that she found in the forest that she swore gave her good luck. Baous might have been new to the group, but he certainly knew what he was doing at times. When the others asked what he had learned from the guards, they watched as he demonstrated some techniques, carefully maintaining his grip on the stick he used and could shift on his feet quickly. Of course, Uhap challenged him to a match to see if he was better, which he found out that he wasn't. Baous left him with a few bruises that Serhis easily healed, but surprisingly not a bruised ego. Instead, Uhap asked to be taught those skills and Baous reluctantly agreed.

The old daily rituals went on. Serhis healing the sick and injured, Rhasalis made contraptions and toys, Xet making sure not to blow up part of their home with his more volatile mixtures, but now there was an element of unexpectedness in their lives, wondering what the next day held as they went about a city they thought they had known, but never explored.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Traveling towards the city by himself, Serhis headed there to stock up on more meat and alchemical ingredients for Xet. They went though their pantry quicker than expected, though that might have been because the kobolds sometimes stayed longer than expected so they had dinner at their place. Nana sometimes showed up to take them home, but with dinner already made, they also gave her a plate. She still seemed distant to them and a bit edgy, but at least she seemed more accepting of the reptiles. Then there was Iskdiwercaesin, himself coming over when he smelled dinner being made from the river and having tired of eating raw fish and whatever he could catch in the forest. At this rate, they'd have to stock up on food three times the size of what they usually got if they didn't want to head into the market three times a week. Nana had been considerate enough to give them some money in compensation for the meals she and the children ate and Baous paid for his own. The hatch mate's home was too small for the whole group, so they ate outside those nights.

Passing through the gates, Serhis drove directly for the marketplace in the wagon. He didn't expect to see the kobolds until later that day, but if they were hanging around the market again, he was probably going to have to bring them along when he went back. Though that might not be so bad, since driving in the empty wagon with nobody but the horses for company seemed lonely to him. His expectations didn't hold true, the kobolds were nowhere to be seen. Doubtless Nana had managed to catch them for once and set them to doing chores before she was willing to letting them run loose.

Finding what he needed, Serhis expected that his shopping trip was going to end quickly and began to head back home. Again, his expectations weren't met. As he neared the edge of the park market, he saw an elderly kobold waving to catch his attention. Slowing down, Serhis looked at the old canine. "Can I help you sir? Is there something that ails you that I can fix?"

"Hehe, no, not unless you can fix old age," the kobold chuckled. "Can I ride with you? I've seen you drive past and you go near my home. Perhaps you could let me come part way and let me rest my tired legs?"

"Of course. You can ride up front with me," Serhis extended a hand to help the kobold in. As the old kobold got in, Serhis was surprised by the strong grip he had before he settled down in his seat. "You seem rather fit for your age."

"Sixty-two and feeling every year of it. My name's Karui Valkivanf."

"Nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Serhis, yes, I know," Karui said. "Auin has said a lot about you and your hatch mates."

"Auin? You're her grandfather?"

"On her mother's side. It's almost every night now that she's been regaling us tales of the little adventures you've been having, though that's only when she's home for dinner. Of course, I know she isn't saying everything, but a girl has to have her secrets," he said with a knowing look.

"Sorry about her not being home for dinner. It's that the time gets late and then Nana comes-"

"No need to apologize. I don't mind her being a bit more independent, though I had wanted to speak to you about setting up a schedule so she doesn't go through your home's food more than ours," Karui looked behind him into the stuffed wagon.

Serhis nodded. "You didn't actually need a ride, did you? You wanted a chance to talk to me," he realized.

"She was right about you being perceptive. I keep fit for my age, or at least I try to. I wish I could go hunting myself, but my duties as Elder tend to make that difficult."

"Elder?" Serhis blinked in surprise. "Auin didn't mention that."

"She didn't? Well, I suppose that's to be expected. Either people know about her being my granddaughter or they don't, she doesn't care much either way. I think it's because she doesn't want to be treated any differently than her playmates," Karui said.

"Were you waiting for me to pass through the market?" Serhis asked. "It doesn't seem like it. It's not the usual time we go to buy food."

"You're correct. I had planned to see you when you came to the market a little later this week, when you and your hatch mates... that's the term, yes? Well, when you and your hatch mates had set up to sell your ways. That way, I could talk with you while Auin and the others were around. As I saw you passing through, I thought 'why not now?'"

"What did you want to discuss? About a schedule?"

"That, among other things," Karui nodded. "I wanted to see you firsthand. Her parents are concerned about her being around you. Nana says that you appear trustworthy enough, but I wanted to determine that for myself."

Turning to look at Karui, Serhis was now aware of the immense scrutiny he was under. "Am I?"

"Trustworthy? Perhaps. Others I've said that to would have been offended by my words. You're most certainly polite, allowing an old follow like me a ride back home," he laughed.

Serhis didn't share his mirth. He wasn't offended, but he was questioning why the Elder would be so direct about it. Perhaps being just as direct would yield an answer he thought. "What would have made me untrustworthy?"

That made Karui stop laughing quickly. "The most obvious reasons for one," he carefully gauged his response, "but namely if you are a bad influence on her and the others. It wasn't only my granddaughter's parents that are concerned, but those of the triplets."

"A bad influence? Like how?" Serhis asked.

"Giving ill considered advice," Karui/s responses remained enigmatic. "She and the others find your way of life something to admire, they are starting to grow more independent. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I find it encouraging actually. What I'm concerned about is what they do with that independence."

"If you mean getting them into trouble, I don't need to help them with that. They already find enough of it on their own," Serhis said, causing Karui to laugh again.

"True, very true. Poor Nana, I really don't think I knew what I was putting her into when I asked her to become their caretaker. It's fine when they're out and about when she has to deal with the laundry and the cleaning, but when it's time to rein them in, she has to look all over the place for them. Rightfully, my own daughter and her mate should be dealing with all this. Would serve them right too, since I had to deal with her antics when she was growing up," he smiled as he reflected on old memories. "But they have their own work to deal with these days. "In effect, you have become their caretakers. They still act on their own accord, but where they see Nana as someone to playfully stay away from, they seek your approval as friends. You see to it that they don't get in over their heads in trouble." The way Karui said that, it was both about what had been done and a request to keep doing so.

On that, Serhis was in agreement. "What are friends for? Besides, we're already feeding them," Serhis looked back into the cart. Around half of it was the kobold's favorite foods.

Karui laughed louder than before, drawing the attention of passers-by. An Elder laughing like that next to the reptile was certainly going to be news around here for a while. "Make sure to feed them healthy things then and be sure you to pull them out of the trouble they get themselves into then. Well, except when that trouble is with their parents."

"I don't think I have much choice in the matter there," Serhis said.

Karui nodded sagely. "You'll be a fine friend. Aside from my granddaughter's antics, I had also wanted to understand you better. You wouldn't mind if I asked a few more questions?"

"Go ahead," Serhis wondered where this would lead.

"How has your life been treating you?"

That certainly wasn't what Serhis was expecting. After the previous questions, he was expecting something more intrusive. This question was considerate. "I'm fine. Things have gotten more interesting since your granddaughter and her friends are coming around our house now. Me and my hatch mates don't have any problems, we don't lack for food or other necessities."

"I see. Any troubles from anyone? Have there been any issues with others?"

"People have been giving us a few unusual looks, but nothing else," Serhis admitted.

"That will pass in time. There will be a few that will always be distrustful of the unique and unusual, but that is to be expected. Otherwise from that, you are comfortable at your home?" Karui saw Serhis nod. "What about your health? Anything wrong?"

"I don't think so. If there was, it'd have to be something extreme for me not to cure," Serhis said.

"How about unusual dreams? Things that seem odd to you?"

"No, there hasn't been anything like that," Serhis answered. These questions were strange. "Is there something that should cause them?"

"No, I'm just curious. I've been wondering if your dreams are any different from kobolds," Karui said.

Serhis considered it for a while. "There's been a few times I felt odd, but they pass."

"Odd?" Karui inquired.

"I mentioned the weird looks, yes? Even when I'm busy healing someone, they look at me as if I'm a stranger."

Karui sighed. "Like I said, you are unique. Perhaps when you understand them as individuals or they see how you are with my granddaughter and her friends, it may pass."

"Was there something else you wanted to ask?" Serhis said.

"No, I think those were all my concerns. Stop here, my home is on a different path than the one you will be taking. I wasn't deceiving you when I said that your route neared my home," Karui said. As the wagon slowed to a halt, Karui hopped off without assistance.

"I wonder what Auin's going to say when I tell her that I talked with you today," Serhis said.

"Knowing her, I'd say she'd be pleased to know that I had taken a direct interest with you. I trust you to do your best around them, and with your hatch mates and the dragon around I don't doubt they are very safe," Karui started to make his way down the other road, but turned around as he took a few steps. "I do apologize for the deceptions. Truly." With that, he went on his own way.

Flicking the reins, Serhis went home, dwelling on the conversation all the way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sitting next to the river, Serhis, Rhasalis, Xet, and Iskdiwercaesin sat near the shore after having finished washing the dishes and bowls from dinner. The kobolds had already left for the night, Nana bringing the children home before it got too late and Baous was needed by the guards the next morning to participate in a training regiment. Xet hummed to himself as he laid back in the grass, listening to the sounds of the insects and birds as the day faded.

"How was he like?" Rhasalis asked when Serhis told her about his meeting the Elder Karui.

"Nice I suppose. And a little weird. He mostly asked about Auin and about us. Oh, that's right! We forgot about setting up a schedule," Serhis realized.

"A schedule? For what?" she asked.

"About the times when Auin and the others could come over."

"You'd think they'd actually follow one?" Iskdiwercaesin sounded skeptical.

"I'd think so," Serhis answered with a hint of doubt. "It would certainly make things easier for us."

"That's for sure. Every time they come around early, I always have to keep checking on my lab to make sure something isn't burning," Xet said from the ground, eyes still shut.

"Did the Elder say anything else?" Rhasalis asked.

"He was nice enough to ask how we all were. I said we were fine and had no problems. Then he started asking about if we were having unusual dreams or if anyone was bothering us," Serhis said.

"Anyone bothering us? Hah, we're so far out of the city, the only people that come out this far are the hunters and the patrols and they're too busy to pester us," Xet said.

"I wonder why he asked that. Do you think something strange is happening?" Rhasalis said.

"Not to my knowledge. Maybe he's concerned about something like shades or hags that haunt dreams and since we're outside the city, we might get unwanted visitors," Serhis speculated.

"You think that Elder knows more than he's letting on?" Xet turned his head.

"Pfft. More than likely," Iskdiwercaesin scoffed. "... but I have been having some strange dreams," he quietly admitted.

"Really? What sorts of dreams?" Serhis asked.

"Should we ask? That's something private," Rhasalis said.

"Normally, I'd say it isn't any of your business, thanks Rhasalis, but I did want to mention it. I think the whole hag haunting dreams theory is bunk, but it's been annoying me for a while. It's not even a dream, more like a nightmare," Iskdiwercaesin admitted.

"You've been having nightmares about what?" Serhis asked.

"Not nightmares, nightmare. This same one I've been having every now and then. It doesn't happen every night, but it keeps bugging me. Aren't dreams suppose to be different most of the time? This one happens the same way every time and when I realize it, it's too late to change anything," Iskdiwercaesin shuffled around, uncomfortable about sharing his thoughts and dreams.

"Go on. You can tell us. We won't laugh or anything," Rhasalis encouraged him.

"It sounds like it might be something haunting your dreams, but that usually means you never get a good night's sleep. Since this happens only a few times, I don't think it's that," Xet gave his opinion.

Concentrating, Iskdiwercaesin recalled his nightmare. "I dream that I could fly. I dream that I was born with my wings and am soaring through the clouds above a mountain forest, going... somewhere. Dreams don't usually make sense at first, right?" Iskdiwercaesin shrugged. "There's a fire in the forest and black smoke rises up. Then, out of the smoke comes a black dragon that's bigger than I am and starts attacking me. I dive and I dodge, I keep trying to stay out of reach, but every single time, the other dragon catches me." Iskdiwercaesin now seemed reluctant to continue.

"Is that when the nightmare ends?" Serhis asked.

"... no it's not. He holds me from behind, holding onto my wings. I try to turn around, trying to bite him or claw at him, do anything that tries not to make the dream end in the same way. Then... pain. We've all had those dreams where we get hurt somehow, right? It's this weird sensation, that half-pain where you think its genuine, but when you wake up you know it's not. This feels too real. After that, I fall down, a long way. I can see the forest as I get closer... then I wake up." Even as Iskdiwercaesin spoke, he rubbed his malformed wings. "Sometimes, it really hurts. Like it just happened."

Xet had been listening closely, try to figuring out what it all meant. "I think that definitely points towards something haunting dreams. Actual pain? Dreams aren't supposed to do that. Do you wake up tired? Like you haven't slept at all?"

"No. It's not like the pain always happens, only sometimes. I might stay up for a little while after that, but I can go back to sleep."

"Huh. I'm not sure what it is anymore. It's not consistent. It's not a regular nightmare, but it's not something like a curse," Xet seemed to be at a loss.

"That is still strange though. Perhaps this is what that Elder was asking about," Rhasalis said.

"It might. He might also think it's just a dream and nothing is out of the ordinary," Serhis said.

"This is stupid. I shouldn't have said anything," Iskdiwercaesin huffed as he turned to walk away.

"No, that's alright," Serhis tried to stop him from going. "I'm sure I've got something to help with the pain." No sooner had he said that when a feeling of déjà vu swept over him.

"I guess you're useful for something," Iskdiwercaesin didn't notice Serhis' sudden change of expression. "Let me guess, you'll have it ready for me in the morning."

"Hmm? Oh. Yes," Serhis shook off the feeling. This was likely what Karui meant, but while it was strange and weird, it also felt familiar.

While Iskdiwercaesin hadn't noticed, Xet and Rhasalis did. "Serhis, are you alright? Maybe we should head home, you look a little dazed."

"Yeah. Some sleep would do me some good," Serhis sat up from the grass and took a pile of the plates and bowls while his hatch mates took the others. "See you tomorrow Iskdiwercaesin," he waved as they went home. The wyrmling did little more than grunt a he made his way towards his cave.

This night, Serhis wished to have a strange dream of his own. To his disappointment as he slumbered, none arrived.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Morning came and went. Aside from Iskdiwercaesin, he didn't need to heal anyone it seemed. As far as Serhis was concerned, that was a good thing, since no one had been injured in an accident. The children wouldn't be coming today, Nana had finally foisted onto them whatever backlog of chores they had neglected to do, though Baous might still arrive for their nightly dinner and games. After a short trip into the forest to gather herbs, Serhis made his way again into the city, this time without the wagon. He was intent on explore it on his own and see Elder Karui about making that schedule and to ask about Iskdiwercaesin's nightmares. Serhis wasn't sure if there was a connection between that and what the Elder had asked, but there wasn't any harm in asking.

Making his way down the road where he last saw the Elder walking. Serhis didn't know exactly where Karui lived, but after asking a few kobolds he passed on the road, he learned which house to go to.

Reaching the home, Serhis saw how large it was. It was certainly bigger than their own home, which was already large enough since it was meant more for those of a kobold's size and most of their furniture was for the children, but this home belonged to a large family. "Karui! Auin! Nana! Anyone home?!" Serhis called out as he knocked on the door.

For a while, he heard nothing. At first, he thought that no one was home. As he was about to leave, he heard footsteps coming to the door. It opened slightly to show a female kobold as old as Karui. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Serhis. Is Elder Karui home?" he asked politely.

"Why do you want to see him?" she asked.

"Well, we saw each other yesterday and started to have a talk. There was the subject of schedules, but it fell by the wayside as the conversation went on. I was hoping that if he had time, we could set something up."

The door opened wider as she got a better look at him. "My mate isn't at home right now, but he'll be back soon. He shouldn't be gone for more than half an hour. You're one of Auin's new friends, aren't you?"

"Yes I am. The schedule was for when she and the others could come to our house without making too much problems. Is she home?"

"No, she and the others are with Nana, washing the linens by the river. A schedule is a good idea, considering she sometimes isn't home when it's time for dinner," she sounded a bit annoyed.

"Ah, sorry about that. It's that we like to use different kinds of herbs and spices that they aren't used to and they insisted on having a taste. After that, they wanted to try even more dishes and-"

"It's alright," she smiled at him. "I should have introduced myself sooner. My name is Fiasii. Would you like to come in to wait?" she opened the door fully to let him in. She shared the family trait of yellow eyes and black fur, and she was modestly dressed with long brown robes and a blue skirt at covered her almost entirely.

"I didn't have any other business, so that will be fine," Serhis said as he entered. The house was adequately furnished, plants grew in pots that were near the windows for sunlight, and a random assortment of objects hung from the ceiling by pieces of string, mostly baubles and beads to catch the eye.

"How has our granddaughter been behaving while she is with you?" Fiasii said as she led him further inside, only to come to an open air garden that was in the center of the house, open sky up above and flowers arranged similarly to the one in the Elder's Council.

"Auin's polite and likes speaking her thoughts. She's doesn't make any trouble for us," Serhis said.

"Ah, but she knows how to find trouble. Don't worry, I know about her antics," she chuckled. "I just hope she doesn't find a way to make any problems while she is with you and your hatch mates."

"Well, there have been times..." he laughed as well. "I hope you don't mind her being around us. I asked Karui about it earlier and he said he was fine with us."

"I don't care to discourage my granddaughter from making friends. On the contrary, I find that your influence is helpful. She always has something new to talk about when she comes home and the things she learns can be useful. Your knowledge of medicinal plants seems to fascinate her as well as the others. Not to mention when you're looking after them, Nana will finally have some time to relax," Fiasii laughed again.

They made their way through the garden, going through another doorway that lead back into the house on the other side. From there, she lead him upstairs to a room with a large desk that was neatly organized and shelves full of books. "You can wait here for when Karui comes back. Would you like something to drink while you're here? Some milk? Ale?"

"Milk will be fine," Serhis said as he climbed into the too big seat.

"Feel free to read some of the books on the shelf if you get bored. My mate has read nearly all of them himself," Fiasii said as she went downstairs.

Considering that it might take half an hour, Serhis browsed the shelves. Most of the books concerning subjects of history, law, and philosophy, though there were a few about romance and adventure here and there that were just as worn and faded at the others. As he stared at the rows of books, Serhis heard Fiasii come up the steps and turned around. She handed him the clay cup, Serhis needing two hands to hold the oversized cup, "do you need anything else while you wait?"

"No, this is fine," he assured her as he took a sip and was surprised to find it chilled.

"An old friend's enchantments. Better than a pantry full of ice," Fiasii said as she went back down and left him alone.

Serhis went to place the cup of milk on the desk, searching for a bare spot to put it. Organized as it was, it was still full of stuff. An inkwell near the left-hand side, a stack of blank parchment to the right with a large round river stone on top to hold it, books stacked to one side of the desk that were bookmarked and probably were regularly used, an astrolabe that made Serhis stare at it for a while in fascination, and a few personal items. Serhis couldn't help but smile as he saw the little wooden toys of Karui and Fiasii sitting together.

As he set down the cup, Serhis noticed one of the books on the desk. It wasn't with the others in a stack and where the writing of the others was written in the language of the kobolds, this one was written in Draconic and wasn't as aged. Most books that needed to be written in Draconic were spell books, but this one was labeled as a bestiary. Serhis felt reluctant to look at it, it seemed to be important to Karui for some reason if he set it aside from the rest, but he was curious and he had time to spare. Opening the pages, he parsed through the numerous pictures and words.

As he parsed through the bestiary, he looked in awe at the various creatures and beings held within it's pages. It described the natures and behaviors of those creatures, varying from goblins and orcs, beings that Serhis had recounted as dangerous and a constant threat in the wilds to things like humans and dwarves, races of beings that were in a far and distant land he could only imagine of going to. After flipping through random pages, he wondered if it held any information regarding himself and his hatch mates, but he didn't know where to start. He would be better off starting from the front and flipping through it quickly to spot any picture that looked similar. As the little flapping of pages sounded through the room, he stopped as he saw what looked like him, minus the wings and gold scales. The artist's rendition was somewhat stylized, but the similarities were enough for Serhis to turn back the few pages he had went over as he flipped. Sure enough, he was looking at what looked like a small reptilian creature, brown scales, back-bent legs, and reddish eyes. Serhis also noted that this page had also been one of those bookmarked. Giddy to learn something he needed to know, he began to read, and ran into something that perplexed him. The author listed him as a kobold.

Confused, Serhis read on, thinking that the author was mistaken or that the illustration was for an entry that was on another page. What he got was a detailed physical description of his hatch mates, listing average height, build, eye color, and habitat. The fact that bright lights and cold weather were detrimental to him wasn't all that surprising, though the earlier name mix-up was still nagging at him. Reaching the end of the entry, though the information was through, it left many questions unanswered.

Admittedly, Serhis wasn't sure what he was looking for in the first place. The book couldn't possibly explain why he and his hatch mates were left all alone in the wilderness or how they came into the care of the kobolds. Now, he had to ponder why they shared the same name. Was it coincidence? Flipping through the pages again, he wanted to find what the author listed for what canine kobolds were. There were some false starts with a few pictures of bipedal canines. Gnolls, werewolves, a specific type of Archon from Celestia, and a species of Elysium. He finally found what he was looking for and it only served to bring more unanswered questions. They were called kobolds as well, which the author did not have an explanation for, and his physical description of them and their habits banished any doubt of him mistaking them for something else. It had also been bookmarked. Closing the book, Serhis went to put the book back and contemplated what he had found, but saw a slip of paper that had been underneath the book earlier. It was written in the kobold's native dialect, a word for word translation from Draconic of the bookmarked pages. Clearly the Elder had wanted to learn more about both their and his own species as well. At the end of the translation notes was a reminder for Karui to return the book to another Elder whose name he didn't recognize, written in his own hand. Obviously he had forgotten to look at the reminder, in a classic display of irony.

As he sat in the chair, Serhis turned his head as he heard the door open as Fiasii entered the room. "Hmm, it looks like my Karui is going to be very late today. It's already well past half an hour."

Serhis hadn't noted the time during all his reading. "How long has it been?" he asked.

"Close to an hour now," Fiasii sighed. "I'm sorry, but if he's not back after half an hour, that usually means he's in a complicated session with the other Elders. I don't have any idea when he'll be back now. It could be in a few minutes or it might take them until later this afternoon until they finish. I think you'd best come back later, otherwise you might be waiting for a long time."

"No need to be sorry, I've been entertaining myself with this book," Serhis pointed at the bestiary, then to the note. "So he's at the Elder's Council right now? Maybe I could go there and deliver this book back for him. He seems to have forgotten it."

Fiasii looked down at the note, making a snorting laugh as she shook her head. "He'll never learn. Where was it?"

"I found it underneath the book."

"Hah! I suppose if they aren't too busy, Karui won't mind if you did him a little favor. It's better than him coming home and me reminding him, then he has to go all the way back to return it. I hope your wait here wasn't too bad."

"No, it was rather informative," Serhis shook his head. "And thank you for the milk and letting me into your home. I hope to make good on that offer to cook for you one day."

"I'd look forward to it," Fiasii nodded, then doubt began to cloud her face. "Any insects?"

"No, not unless you want some," Serhis said half jokingly. "I guess Auin told you that too." Fiasii nodded again. "I assure you, our meal will be bug free, but certainly delicious. Again, thank you," he handed her the empty cup as he took the book and note from the desk.

Leading him back down the stairs and through the gardens, she said goodbye at the door as Serhis went on his way. As nice as that visit was, his mind was in a riot, reorganizing itself in light of the information it had learned. Not all of the information was completely correct, though that may have been from generalization since not everyone could account for variance, but the rest had been amazingly accurate. That their races held the same name was intriguing, but Serhis asked himself if it had any deeper meaning. Karui must have been thinking on the same lines with the bookmarks and translation page. Serhis thought maybe the Elder had found some other information and could inform Serhis when he reached him.

Passing through the city at a brisk pace, Serhis went up the hill towards the Elder Council. As he reached the walls, a guard at the gate blocked his path. "Hey, what are you doing here? The Elders are a session. Hey, aren't you that lizard thing from before?" the guard asked.

"I'm here to deliver a book," Serhis said with some annoyance. He resented being called a "thing". Holding up the book for the guard to see, he also pointed at the note.

"Hmm. It's the Elder's handwriting," the guard muttered. "I guess if he gave you that so you could give it to Elder Cahji..., but like I said, they're in a session right now and I don't want to interrupt them."

Apparently the guard had mistaken the note as something Karui gave to him. "Could I go inside to see then?"

"No. I can't have you wandering around with no one watching you and I'm not going follow you around while you wait. I have guard this gate, so you can come back later," the guard said.

Feeling that he was out of options, Serhis was about to go away when he heard a voice through the gate. "I could watch him while he's inside." It was Baous, a bit dirty at the moment and with a large sack of oats over his shoulder.

"I don't know if I should let you do that..." the guard said with reluctance.

"You were going to let him in anyway if he didn't have to wait until the session was over. Besides, he might be helpful to me while we wait. Please?" Baous asked.

"Alright. In you go," the guard unlocked the gate and washing his hands of the whole affair. After Serhis walked inside, the gate was locked behind him.

"Thanks Baous," Serhis said as he trotted behind the kobold.

"It's no problem. I have to drop this off at the storage hut first," Baous hefted the bag of oats. "Why did you need to see an Elder? I didn't catch all that before I got near the gate."

Serhis held up the book and note again. "Karui forgot to give this back to another Elder and I thought I could deliver it for him. I also wanted to talk to him about certain subjects." The whole schedule discussion was likely to fall to the wayside again now that he wanted to learn what Karui knew, but Serhis wanted to remember it.

"What's that book about?" Baous asked.

"It's a bestiary. It has pictures and descriptions for lots of different creatures." Flipping it open to a random page to show, Serhis held it up for Baous to see. "Though it's in Draconic. I don't think you can read it."

"I can read it," Baous stopped to lean down, balancing the sack carefully. "Griffons."

Turning the book around, Serhis nodded. "You can speak Draconic?" he asked in the same language.

"Yes. I do not speak it well though," Baous replied in kind while they kept going to the hut.

"I learned to speak Draconic from Xet, when he learned it from one of the mages. He was rather fluent in it. What about you?"

From Serhis' perspective, he could see Baous' brows furrow as he tried to recall. "I'm... not sure. I think from one of the mages as well."

"Well, it doesn't matter. Good to know you can speak it at least," Serhis shrugged as they reached the hut.

While Baous opened the door and placed the sack among a number of others, he looked at Serhis. "By the way, if you wanted to get inside, why didn't you use that secret bridge? That would get you in, no problem."

"Yes, but I wanted to see someone and there'd be questions about how I got in. At least with Gaupa and the others, they're known for getting into places without anyone knowing, nobody would think about it too hard," Serhis shrugged. "If someone saw me, there would be a lot of questions."

Shutting the door, Baous pointed towards the main building. "I suppose that's true. We could wait inside if you want."

"Sure," Serhis and Baous started going in that direction.

"You mentioned something about talking to the Elders. What were you going to ask them about?" Baous asked

"It's a complicated subject," Serhis said, not sure if he should involve Baous in something that didn't need to be his concern. They sat down near the front entrance on a bench as they waited.

"We have time. Did you want to talk to Karui or was it Cahji, since I heard the book was for her?"

"Karui, but I suppose either of them, since what I wanted to talk to them about was the book itself. Here, look." Opening to the bookmarked pages, Serhis pointed to the names of the species shown. "I know what I am now, but why is it the same name as your species?"

As Baous read the entries, he stopped as he looked at the page with the canine kobolds. "Huh. That almost looks like my handwriting."

"What, the book?"

"No, I mean, here," he pointed towards the margins of the page.

All Serhis could see were symbols he didn't recognize. "That's writing?"

"Yeah. It's in... Dwarven," Baous didn't sound sure of himself. "It says Ceritun Plains, Giyun Forest, and Lenship Peninsula. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No, I don't remember hearing of any of those places. You know Dwarven?" Serhis asked. Baous nodded slowly. "You don't sound like you know for sure," Serhis said with some concern.

"No, I know that's Dwarven. It's that I can't remember who I learned it from," Baous said.

"Maybe it was from the same mage who taught you Draconic," Serhis suggested.

"Maybe," Baous said with uncertainty. Serhis shared that uneasiness. The whole prospect of having a large gap in a memory about something so important was unnerving. "But why did I know that's my handwriting?"

"It could be that the same mage who taught you Dwarven wrote in it," even as Serhis said it, he knew that was a stretch. Even if it was from the same mage, handwriting style wouldn't be passed from teacher to student, not without rigorous coaching. "Who taught you? We could ask him."

"His name was Phif Tope-"

"The same mage who taught Xet," Serhis interrupted. "Died two years ago at seventy seven. Looks like that idea won't work."

As Baous nodded, the doors to the Elder's Council opened and two kobolds stepped out, one a male in his fifties with black fur and a long streak of white down his muzzle and chest and garbed in the vestments of a druid. The other a female perhaps in her early to mid thirties with brown fur, lighter around her muzzle and darker near her ears, wearing some gold chain on her neck and shoulders and it looked like she was pregnant. They walked past, unaware of the two that had been waiting near the door.

"Um, excuse me?" Serhis got up to walk towards them.

"Hmm. Wha- What is this thing doing here?" the older of the two said with surprising anger. "Who let you in here?"

Serhis was shocked into a brief stupor. "Have I done something to upset you?" he tried to gather his wits.

"Answer my question, who let you in here?" the male said in a stern tone, completely ignoring Serhis' own question. While the voice was bad, the look he gave Serhis was worse, a gaze of utter contempt, but it turned as the female tugged on his arm.

"If they have important business that needs the attention of the Elders, it doesn't matter who let him in. You have business with us?" she asked Serhis in a much kinder tone.

Holding up the book for them to see, he pointed to the note. "Elder Karui forgot to give this back earlier. Is Elder Cahji here so I can give this to her?"

"I'm Elder Cahji," the woman nodded. "Karui did say he forgot to bring it when we saw each other earlier today. Thank you for returning it to me." Serhis presented the book to her as she extended her hand. "There was no need to be rude Berguio," she said to the other Elder.

"Hmph. That should be all, right? Shouldn't you be going now?" he still gave a hard stare at Serhis.

"Um, I had wanted to ask you a few things since you owned that book," Serhis said as he was starting to get reluctant to ask around the older kobold.

"You read it?" Cahji asked with a neutral voice. As Serhis nodded, he could see Berguio's nostrils flare with an intake of breath, but he didn't say anything.

"We read that he is called a kobold too. We were wondering if you knew why?" Baous interjected himself into the conversation.

"You're familiar with this thing?" Berguio said with some alarm. Serhis was wondering why he was acting so hostile and so strangely. Then again, he never met him before.

"I'm a kobold, not a thing," Serhis asserted himself.

"That you are, however, I don't know why you are named the same as our species, and this book is ancient, so it is a mystery that has long since passed," Cahji replied.

"Do you have any other books like this? Maybe I could see if-"

"There are no such other books. This book is from a private library and will be returned to it immediately," Berguio interrupted. "Though I do have questions of my own. How long have you two known each other?"

That was a weird question to ask. "Almost two weeks now," Baous answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Not important, not important," Berguio seemed in the habit of brushing off the questions of others.

"I'm sorry, but we can't stay to ask or answer more questions," Cahji gave a stern look of her own at Berguio. "We were on our way to deal with our own important business. Perhaps we could meet at another time."

"That's fine," Serhis hid his disappointment.

"I hope you can see yourself out the gates," Berguio said.

"Have a good day," Cahji said with a great deal more courtesy. "Oh, and Baous, you can come over again and have dinner with us whenever you want. Bring the same ingredients, we want to try that same recipe again," she waved to Baous before she went with Berguio to another building within the walls of the compound. With nothing else to do, Serhis went towards the gates with Baous. That had been less informative than they had hoped.

"That could have gone better," Baous sighed.

"What was Elder Berguio's problem? Is he usually that confrontational?" Serhis asked.

"He's not like that all the time. He's mostly like that when he spots something he thinks is wrong or dangerous, like when someone writes a magic scroll wrong or has an alchemy mixture that's about to explode or something similar. He's the most knowledgeable mage in the city, which is why he has a seat on the Council, even if everyone thinks he's way too pushy," Baous explained.

"But all I did was deliver a book. What's so dangerous about that?" Serhis was shocked by the hostile response.

"Who knows? He just stares at me sometimes whenever I'm around . It's creepy," Baous said.

"I can see what you mean. I didn't even have the chance to ask what I wanted, like where Elder Karui is or since Elder Cahji owned the book, if she had any others that had kobolds in them that weren't from the same author," Serhis said. "By the way, she invites you to dinner at her home?"

"Uh huh. I go when the others are too busy and aren't going over to your house. I don't know why, but one day when she just got out of a session and I was outside, she asked if I wanted to come over to her house. I usually bring some food of my own so I don't feel like I'm just eating for nothing there. They're nice, Cahji asks how I'm doing and what adventures I've been having with my friends. I think I've met most of the Elder's family at the dinner table by now."

"The Elder sounds very generous," Serhis said.

"She is. She almost makes me feel like part of the family and also like a friend."

"Heh, I think the title of 'Elder' is a misnomer for her. She doesn't look old at all, but she certainly sounds wise," Serhis mused.

"Yep. I guess I should mention she's a druid as well, she probably knows just as much about medicinal plants as you, then a whole lot more about every other plant. Sometimes she asks about you."

"About me?" Serhis asked.

"Stuff like what you do normally, how am I getting along with you or how everyone treats you. There was one time she asked about if you knew how you powered your spells, but since I didn't know, she didn't ask any further. You don't mind I said all that, do you?"

"No, it's fine," Serhis replied. Reaching the gates, he turned to say goodbye to Baous.

"Goodbye Serhis. I hope you find more about what you're looking," Baous said.

"I do too. If you see Elder Karui, can you remind him that I still wanted to talk to him about a schedule and that I'm starting to find those strange dreams he was asking about."

As Serhis was turning away to leave, Baous spoke up. "Strange dreams? What strange dreams?"

"It's something that Karui asked me yesterday. I don't have them, but it seems that Iskdiwercaesin is having this same nightmare that comes back once in a while. I wanted to see if that was what he was referring to."

Thought it seemed like he was giving random trivia to Baous, the expression of intense focus that came over his face told Serhis it was anything but trivial. "Did he say they had to be nightmares?" Baous asked.

"No, just dreams in general. You've been having them too?"

"... like you said, from time to time," Baous admitted.

"Hey, are you going or not? I'm going to close this gate," the guard from earlier said in irritation.

"Oh. I should be going," Serhis didn't want to cut the conversation short, but it didn't look like he had a choice.

"No, wait! I'm going out too then," Baous made his choice instead as he dashed through the gates before they closed. The guard shrugged and returned to his post. "Since you don't have a reason to be inside, I don't need a reason to be outside. About these dreams, why are they important?" Baous asked as they walked down the path of the tree covered hill.

"I'm not certain," Serhis shrugged. "All Karui did was mention them to me as we were partings ways. I had thought that he was just interested if our minds thought in a different way, but if it's affecting you too, I don't think that's the case."

"If you already dream differently, how would that be stranger than normal?" Baous asked.

"I suppose that's true. It is a strange thing to ask," Serhis appreciated Baous' wisdom there. "I had been thinking he had wanted to ask that for some form of philosophical discussion, but it looks like it really is something more important. I don't have any theory as to why. Can I ask about yours?" Baous nodded. "What do you dream about over and over?"

"No, it's not a dream I have over and over, it's something else. I mean, it feels the same, it feels different from my other dreams somehow, but the way it happens is different each time," Baous struggled to put his dreams into words.

"What are they about? Do they have a certain theme?" Serhis asked. "It can be difficult to describe dreams, you don't have to push yourself for me. Sometimes even remembering them is hard."

"No, that's the thing. I can remember all of them. I dream about being in places I've never been before, like a wide open plain or a city that looks so different, sometimes they're even underground. Sometimes it's a nightmare, like a village full of dolls that slowly chase me. Then, there's this really small doll," Baous shuddered. "At other times, it's me on an open road in a wagon. I keep thinking there's somebody with me, there's more than one person, but I can't remember who they are. It's not only on the road, but in the cities as well, I can't remember anyone there, but I know I met someone," Baous' confusion was evident in his tone. "All those places felt so real. That's why I think it's strange."

Reaching the bottom of the hill as Baous finished, they stopped as Serhis considered what Baous had said. "I really need to ask Karui about this then."

"Do you have to mention that it's me that had those dreams?" Baous asked.

"I have to. If there's a reason Elder Karui wants to know about these strange dreams and it's not only about kobolds, well, scaly kobolds, then I want to know about it."

Baous nodded. "Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

Thinking about it, Serhis asked the same battery of questions that Xet did for Iskdiwercaesin. The answers where about the same, except since they were only sometimes nightmares, he didn't wake up in the middle of the night that often. "That's all I can think of."

"When are you going to talk to Elder Karui about this?" Baous asked.

"Tomorrow. He seems rather busy today and his mate did invite me to make dinner at their house. If Gaupa and the others aren't busy as well, we can eat at Auin's place instead of ours. I'll have a chance to speak to him then."

"I should be going back up now," Baous started climbing up the hill. "Uh, thanks for listening. I mean, it might just be some silly dreams..."

"They might be dreams, but you're very lucky to be able to remember them so vividly. Most people can only wish their dreams are so clear and wondrous," Serhis said. Baous nodded, giving a small smile as he turned and walked back up. Having little else to do in the city, Serhis walked back home, his thoughts burning with all that he had garnered today, from finding a name to his race to these mysterious dreams. Tonight, he would be plagued with dreams of his own, waking to realize that every dream he's had was unique in it's own way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sunning himself on his "meditation stone", Serhis had spent a whole hour recalling every dream he could. They might not be as vivid as Baous', but he could understand what his friend had meant by the "feel" of it. Dreams about flying around a large ship across a sea, walking across lands in the dreamscape of his mind. The underground city Baous mentioned he also remembered, though only now did he realized the connection. At first, he thought it was only a shared theme, but with the aspect of something out of the ordinary affecting them, he contemplated if this meant that their dreams were being shared in some way. No sooner had he woken up, he asked Rhasalis and Xet about their own dreams. Most of them seemed unconnected, but one nightmare had etched itself on all of their minds. A night in a forest, being tormented by a large and terrifying orc. That they all shared this one dream, thought on different nights, was disturbing to them. It was something they had overlooked, that the dreams they already had could be connected and only now that they had spoken about them did they seem strange.

As Serhis laid back on the stone, his eyes closed as he felt the warm sun on his scales, he listened to the forest, the wind carrying through the branches and leaves, the scents it carried of the river and the early summer day. As he listened, he could hear fast moving footsteps approaching through the long grass and he raised himself to look at who was approaching.

"Elder Berguio?" Serhis watched as the kobold approached the stone, wondering why he had come. He didn't appear to be injured or sick.

The gruff elder gave that same hard stare from yesterday. "You, answer my questions. I haven't been able to find the others, your hatch mates. Where are they?"

"Huh? Rhasalis went hunting and Xet's usually walking near the river picking certain plants," Serhis answered, then began to think, "how did you know I was here? Only my friends know about this place."

"That doesn't matter. I'm the one asking questions, not you," the Elder's attitude was unfriendly, almost outright hostile now. "That book you had yesterday, how much of it did you read?"

"Only parts of it, but mainly about the entries on kobolds, both of them. Why are you-?"

"Quiet! It would be a good idea for you to answer my questions and no more than that, do you understand?" Elder Berguio said in a commanding tone. Serhis nodded wordlessly, thinking to himself about where these questions were going to lead. "What about the dragon? Has he been staying close to the river?"

"Iskdiwercaesin barely ever leaves the river," Serhis replied and for once the Elder seemed satisfied with the answer.

"What about the images when you sleep? How much about them do you know?"

"The dreams? How do you know about-?" Serhis tried to ask, but the Elder interrupted him again.

"I told you to answer my questions! How often to they happen? How much do you remember?" he stressed the last word.

As much patience as Serhis had, what he had for Elder Berguio was running thin. "We have some that we share on a few nights, but Iskdiwercaesin's nightmares are his own. How did you know about them?" Serhis asked his answer quickly before Berguio could interrupt again. "We haven't told anyone else about them yet."

"Elder Karui informed me," Berguio said to a skeptical Serhis before returning to his own questions. "But how much do you remember? Answer!"

"... when I wake up, I can't remember all of them. Why are these dream so important?"

Berguio seemed ready to explode. Serhis recalled that he was suppose to be a mage and was wary of the Elder actually using his arcane skills, but Berguio seemed to rein himself in as he considered Serhis' words. "Like you said, they're dreams, nothing more, though you would do well to put them from your head," he said in a warning tone. "Tell that to the other reptiles as well. Also, you don't need to inform Elder Karui about them, I'll do that. This is a matter for the Elders and none of your concern, so stay out of it. Ask no more questions and we'll handle the matter ourselves."

His patience at an end, Serhis couldn't help but ask in spite of the Elder's command. "What's so important about them that you have to come out yourself to me to say all this? Is it only us or is affecting others as well?"

Berguio fumed at Serhis' defiance. With no more to ask, he turned away without answering Serhis' question, though he did have one last thing to say. "Be glad they are only dreams." Having said that cryptic message to Serhis, he left the kobold alone on his stone.

Serhis would sit on that stone for hours, long after the sun had passed over the trees, the shade covering the stone and the warmth it held fading into cold. All the while, he couldn't puzzle out what the Elder had meant, and only when Gaupa, Uhap, Haut, and Auin came to get him did he leave.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later that evening, Serhis, his hatch mates, and his friends went into the city to have dinner at Auin's house. Even Iskdiwercaesin came along for the trip, complaining that he would only have cold, raw fish to eat if he didn't. Serhis hadn't told anyone about the confrontation he had with the Elder, at least not yet. Talking about it to the kobold kids would make the ensuing dinner awkward, especially with Karui at the table. Serhis wasn't sure if Berguio had told Karui about it either and the grandfatherly kobold didn't give any indication that he did. Through the night, Serhis did try to put it from his mind, and only barely succeeded.

Having so many people around gave the dinner a party atmosphere. They sat in the garden as they ate as Auin introduced her new friends to her parents, who seemed to have been reluctant to have the reptilian kobolds and the dragon hanging around their daughter, and they seemed equally guarded around Baous. But as Karui and Nana assured them that they were alright, they opened up.

This dinner was certainly a new experience for all involved, the reptilian kobolds bringing their own dishes to the table while the canine kobolds made freshly cooked plates of their own, sharing with one another. Of course, Haut couldn't help but ask if there were bugs in any of the food and Serhis assured them that were none did. Those that met one another for the first time seemed awkward to one another; Elder Karui, Fiasii, and Auin's parents were cordial enough to Xet and Rhasalis, though Auin's parents voiced their concerns about their daughter and the other children hanging around a house that had potentially explosive chemicals and sharp implements, but they assured Auin's parents that they were very careful when demonstrating their skills to the children. Regarding Iskdiwercaesin, things were even more awkward. As the green wyrmling sat at the table, eating and drinking his fill, no one knew what to say to him. What was there to say to a dragon? Even Serhis was hard pressed to find a conversation topic that Iskdiwercaesin could participate in, but when the "Guardian of the River" spent most of his day doing just that, only finding diversion when the children came to play, it was difficult to find a common point of interest. The kobold children were the only common thread between them, they provided that connection when they were asked what they did with the dragon and they spoke of word games, puzzles, and riddles. Karui and Fiasii also had an interest in word games and challenged the dragon right at the table, to which Iskdiwercaesin smirked and finally spoke, the games involving the rest of the table throughout dinner and afterwards.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience and it silenced some of the fears Auin's parents might have had. It almost made Serhis forget about his run-in with Elder Berguio. As the night came to an end, getting near the children's bedtime, Serhis was tempted to ask Karui why Berguio had confronted him, the dreams, as well as why Karui had requested the book from Elder Cahji. The last one he could speculate on, as the elder just met him and likely wanted to learn more about his species. However, Karui surely had to know that he had already returned the book for him, but he didn't mention it at any point during the evening. Leaving it for another time, Serhis, Baous, Iskdiwercaesin, Rhasalis, and Xet waved goodbye to Auin's family as they left their home while Nana escorted the triplets back to their own.

"That was fun, I suppose," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"You suppose? You spend most of your time sleeping next to a river unless one of us decides to visit. What could have made it more fun?" Xet asked.

"Word games are fun, but they get dull. Once in a while, maybe we could roll some dice or deal cards, put a little luck into our games. We can spice it up by putting up stakes," he grinned.

"I don't think their parents would appreciate us doing that," Baous said as he turned to leave.

"Eh, whatever. Hey, Serhis, why didn't you say anything about the nightmares? You could have mentioned it to Karui," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"Oh, yeah. We didn't have the chance to say anything earlier when Serhis was at the Elder's Council," Baous stopped and turned around.

"Did Berguio say anything to you when you mentioned it?" Serhis assumed it was Baous that informed the Elder about the dreams.

"Huh? I didn't say anything to Elder Berguio. I mean, he was around a lot more than usual today, mostly talking with a guard nearby, but he was looking at me and whenever I noticed, he looked away."

"Don't people usually do that anyway?" Xet said.

"No, more like he was staring at me for some reason, like he didn't want me to notice that he was watching. Even when he saw me looking and I went back to working on the garden, I looked again and he was still staring. I said it was creepy earlier, but now it's just disturbing."

Disturbing seemed to define the situation neatly. "Did anyone mention the dreams and nightmares to anyone?" Serhis asked. Everyone replied in the negative.

"Who's Elder Berguio? Obviously he's part of the council, but what does he have to do with this?" Iskdiwercaesin asked.

"That is something I also don't know," Serhis replied. "He asks some strange questions, such as how long ago Baous and I met. This morning, he confronted me about the dreams, asking how often they happened or how much I remembered. He was enraged about something, I couldn't tell what."

"So there is something bigger going on," Iskdiwercaesin nodded.

"And it involves us somehow," Serhis agreed. "There's been one thing that's been bothering me. Berguio said that Karui was the one that informed him about the dreams we're having, but if none of us told Karui, then how did Berguio find out about them? Why is this so important that he'd lie about it?"

"What does this Elder do on the council?" Rhasalis asked.

"Elder Berguio is the senior most mage in the city. Anything involving the arcane is going to involve him since he's the most knowledgeable about it," Baous said.

"Heh, I think I might take issue with that last one," Xet chuckled. "Anyway, what else did this Elder want?"

"He didn't want me to mention the dreams again, then he left. I don't understand what he wants me to keep secret exactly," Serhis shrugged.

"Obviously it's not much of a secret anymore if he somehow managed to hear of it. Anyway, is this leading anywhere important?" Iskdiwercaesin asked, to which Serhis shrugged again.

"It sounds like the Elders want to handle this privately. Maybe we shouldn't dig into this anymore," Baous said with uncertainty. "There's not much we can do. The Elders seem to know about it already. If they want to ask us anything else, they can already do that."

Serhis wasn't in the habit of leaving things be if it seemed out of place, and there were already numerous things that didn't quite fit. He couldn't argue with Baous' statements though. Aside from the tentative connection between the dreams, he couldn't find a way to test what might be happening, not without serious arcane or divine support. If the Elders were already focusing their resources on the issue, anything he could do would be redundant and he didn't want to antagonize them by pressing the issue. "I suppose we should drop it," Serhis reluctantly agreed.

As they talked to one another, they barely noticed as Elder Karui stood at the entrance to his home. "Hmm? What are you all still doing here? Did something happen?"

"No, no. We're just talking about some stuff," Serhis replied ambiguously. He was sorely tempted to ask here and now, but since he had just agreed to leave the issue be, he restrained himself. Noticing the way the Elder was dressed in formal robes, unlike the more casual attire he had been wearing for dinner, he asked a different question. "Are you going somewhere tonight? It's late to go anywhere."

"I could say the same myself. Apparently some of the other Elders have been called to a late meeting tonight. Seems that there's been a development," Karui said that last sentence in a certain tone that said he was repeating whoever informed him.

"I didn't see any messengers. A spell?" Serhis hazarded a guess.

"Correct. So whatever it is should be important," Karui sighed, not pleased about being called to a late night session.

"Good luck with that, and good night. We should be going too," Serhis said to the others. Everyone bid each other a good night as they went home. Serhis, Iskdiwercaesin, Xet, and Rhasalis stayed together as they went out of the city while Baous went to his own small home further inside the city.

As they walked towards the city walls with full bellies and distracted minds, that haze of complacency began to fade as they noticed the way Rhasalis was acting, giving small and subtle cues. She would hang around a corner that she had just turned, waiting until the others had gone around before she stepped up her pace, reaching the front of the group before stopping again. They were about to ask her when she spoke.

"We're being followed," Rhasalis said in no uncertain terms, her voice a low and guarded whisper of Draconic as her red eyes glanced around the last corner they had turned. They all began to stop, but she urged them onward, pointing for them to keep moving.

Serhis didn't need to ask if she was sure. She was not one for jokes like this. "Who would want to follow us? How did you know someone was there?"

"I'm not sure on the who part, but I could just feel someone being there. As if they tried to blend into the shadows too hard, using pure black in a light darkness," Rhasalis shrugged. "I don't know if that made sense, but I know for certain that one person is following us at a distance."

Though Serhis had complete faith in Rhasalis' assessment, Iskdiwercaesin was still skeptical. "I don't smell anyone. Either they're at a large distance or using something that masks scents."

"They are rather far off. I think it's because whoever it is knows where we're going, it's that he or she is keeping an eye on us."

Again, an unnerving thought gripped Serhis' mind. If this was again related to the dreams, someone wanted them under observation, but it could as likely that it didn't have anything to do with that. It was hardly likely that this could be connected to it, but there was nothing else to indicate that something else was afoot. "So we keep going until what?"

"I don't see why we can't turn around and actually ask the poor idiot," Iskdiwercaesin said. It would be the direct approach with no subtlety or grace, but then again, they had no reason not to. Turning around, the group headed straight for whoever was following them. "Hey, you there! What do you want with us?!" he shouted down the street, attracting the attention of everyone that lived htere. A distant figure about to turn the corner froze.

"Did you want to ask us something?" Serhis shouted as well. Again, the figure stayed in position. Window shutters opened and candle light shone from the inside as the residents of the nearby homes looked outside to see what all the noise was about. As the kobolds and dragon came closer, the cloaked figure bolted around the corner.

"Think we should chase him?" Serhis asked.

"Nah. Don't bother," Iskdiwercaesin replied, surprising the group. "If someone's taking the effort to watch us, obviously he's going to try waiting for us when we get back home, so we can also wait for him there. I'd rather catch this guy without all the attention." Curious heads poked out the window, some had seen the fleeing figure, others themselves asking what had happened. Assuring that it wasn't any cause for alarm, the group continued on their way back home. "You don't mind if I stay at your house tonight?"

"I don't see why not. I wonder if this person has the guts to try observing us so soon after being spotted," Rhasalis said.

For Serhis, a strange day proceeded to become even stranger, his thoughts occupied in wondering what could have gone so amiss that their own dreams became a matter of concern for the Elders and that someone would be sent to spy on them. Nothing made sense. When they got home, they barred the door and repurposed some of Rhasalis' hunting snares at the foot of the windows, sleeping in shifts as one of them would keep watch towards the outside. If their watcher was spotted, they would chase him down in the forest. The first watch was Iskdiwercaesin's. Two hours passed and he saw no sign of unusual activity. His watch over, he nudged Serhis out of the pile of reptile that was the hatch mates.

"Wha-? Did you see something?" Serhis said with a drowsy yawn.

"Nah, I didn't see anything out there. I even kept the windows open a crack so I could hear a little better, not to mention actually be able to smell outside. I've been guarding a river as far back as I can remember, so this stuff isn't all that unusual. Well, except this time someone's actually out there for once. Anyway, I doubt this loser's going to show his face around here." Iskdiwercaesin shrugged.

"I was hoping that our mysterious watcher would since we could ask why when we catch the person. What makes you think it's a he? For all we know the observer could be a she," Serhis said.

"I guess so. You tell me if you see her. Or him. Now move over, there's barely any room for me to sleep here," the wyrmling clambered onto the bed.

As Serhis got out of the way, he looked out the windows to start his watch and squinted, he couldn't see out the window. He realized the reason he couldn't see the forest was due to all the large cloaked figures blocking the view. As he inhaled to shout for the others to wake, the windows shattered inward as the figures that had surrounded their home broke them, waking everyone for him. Dressed in the dark greens and browns of the forest, the intruders wielded a variety of weapons. Swords, daggers, spears, and clubs. They made no demands as they entered, only their weapons gave away their intent. Or at least, they tried to enter. Barely did they set foot on the floor did the snares caught their feet, causing howls of pain as the traps clamped shut, making the intruders at the windows block the path of anyone else trying to fit through.

"Get up! Get up!" Serhis finally forced the words out of this throat. They were unneeded, the others were already jumping off the bed to gather around him. They had no weapons prepared or escape routes planned, they had thought that they would be chasing after one person, not get attacked. The snares were only a precaution in the event the observer tried to sneak in while whoever was on watch was looking out another window.

The canine kobolds cursed and swore as they tried to pry open the snares on their legs, it wouldn't take long before they got free. "Who are you?! What are you doing in our home?!" Serhis shouted at them, but received no response aside from more swearing.

"We need to get out!" Rhasalis saw that there were too many of them, trying to fight them all would be pointless. Before they could reach the door, they heard the sounds of someone trying to batter it down from the outside.

"Not that way!" Iskdiwercaesin turned around and opened his mouth. He covered a part of the wall in a spray of acid, destroying a painting that had been hanging, the wooden walls didn't stay up for long as he charged into the acid weakened structure, barging through and into the open night, the hatch mates moving swiftly to follow.

"After them!" they heard someone shout to their backs as the sound of an uncomfortable number of feet went chasing them. Losing so many pursuers was going to be tricky.

Xet was very tricky. "Don't look back!" he shouted in Draconic. Serhis was looking straight ahead and he still saw a bright flash light the ground in front of him, casting a long shadow over the grass for a brief moment. More shouts were heard behind them as the flare had blinded their pursuers. Wanting to confound their pursuers even further, Serhis called an obscuring mist over himself and the others. By the time they could see again, their assaulters would only be looking into a misty haze.

They ran as far into the thick trees as they could until they heard no more sign of pursuit. Even then, they continued even farther until they needed to stop their legs from aching.

"Who were those guys?" Xet said between gasps for air, having collapsed against a tree.

"Don't know. I'm going to find out one way or another though," Iskdiwercaesin replied.

"How?" Serhis asked, himself out of breath as he sprawled out on the grass.

"I'll find a way. You noticed the marks on their hoods?" The kobolds nodded. Though the cloak were almost non-descript, some almost completely different from one another, there was a symbol on each of their hoods. It looked like a double-headed spear pointing up and down with what looked to be a fang running through it. "Anyone knows what it means?"

"No. Haven't seen it before," Xet groaned as his lungs started to hurt less.

"What the hells is going on?" Rhasalis muttered. "Someone is hunting us and we don't know for what purpose. They are organized and they didn't seem to want us alive for that matter. We don't have any enemies."

"No, I'm pretty sure we have enemies now. And I'm going to make sure I don't have any soon enough, " Iskdiwercaesin said.

"I still don't think that's a good idea. There are way too many of them," Serhis replied.

"Then what do you think we should do? Hide in the woods all night and hope they go away? Even if they did, they're still going to be looking for us for whatever stupid reason they've got. For all I know, they want to take me apart for spell components or someone's just tired of us being around or it could be that nightmare thing for all I know. I say we find one of these guys alone, make him tell us who's in charge, then make the commander call off the attack. If that doesn't work, I don't mind taking apart whatever organization they've got from the top down. Maybe the next one in charge will see things our way."

"But we don't have to act alone. We could inform the Elders about this. Perhaps they could be of help and know more about the ones that attacked us," Serhis said.

"They could be the ones that are in charge in the first place!" Iskdiwercaesin said in urgent tones, but not too loud as to shout. They were all still careful about being found. "If anyone's got the influence to do this, it's them."

"We can discuss this later in a more secure location," Rhasalis stood up, ready to move again. "Us staying here won't do us any good, they'll be combing these woods to find us. We also didn't get a decent sleep tonight. I want somewhere to rest before we act."

"Is there anyplace safe to go?" Xet wondered.

"... the hideout?" Serhis suggested. Everyone else considered the suggestion seriously.

"If it wasn't all the way in the city, it'd be a good idea. We might get spotted on the way in," Iskdiwercaesin argued.

"It's either that or we try to survive in the deeper woods," Xet liked the idea made by Serhis.

"Fine. Any ideas on how we can actually get in the city? None of us have wings like you," Iskdiwercaesin said to Serhis.

"We could just walk in," he replied.

"Say what?"

"All of our pursuers had that emblem on their hoods, right? That doesn't seem to me like the regular guards. If we walked up to the gates and knocked, the guards would let us in," Serhis said.

"On the other hand, they could also be involved," Rhasalis said.

"That is a possibility," Serhis conceded. "We could still give it a try. If I walk towards the gate and they don't try to stop me, then we have a chance."

"Sure, as long as you're the one going first," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"Once we get inside though, I think we should split up. If we stay together it would be easy to spot the whole group. Our adversaries might have sent their warriors, but I think they have observers still inside the city. They might not be actively seeking us, but if we do get spotted, they'll be hunting us again. We'll each find a way to the hideout," Rhasalis said.

"If you say so. I think I'll-" Xet was cut short by Rhasalis as she held up a claw.

"Don't tell us. I really don't want this to happen, but if one of us does get caught, then it's better if you don't know and let the others get captured more easily."

A somber thought, but hopefully a needless precaution thought Serhis.

Xet nodded. "I'm sure any of us could easily hide in the city, but what about Iskdiwercaesin? He's going to stick out wherever he goes."

Iskdiwercaesin smirked, looking to have been deep in thought. "Don't worry, I've got a way."

Having spent enough time recovering from their frantic escape, they made their way towards the city, the light of the half moon barely shining through the trees, moonbeams streaking through the dark forest. Their journey towards the city was unhindered, though they all would cautiously look over their shoulders for signs of their attackers, all the way until they reached the gates.

"What's the plan if this doesn't work?" Iskdiwercaesin said.

"If this does involve the guards, then I'm out of plans. All we have left is to run into the wilderness," Serhis replied.

"I still think we should find one of those guys and make him or her talk," Iskdiwercaesin said, but let Serhis try his idea first.

Walking out of the trees and onto the road, Serhis made himself plain to see to the guards on duty at the gate. They looked at him as he approached, but they hadn't shouted or done anything that indicated that they had been on the lookout for him. As Serhis got close, one of them spoke. "It's rather late going into the city. What are you doing out so late?"

"A matter of great importance came up. Can you let me in? I need to attend to it urgently," Serhis replied ambiguously. It appeared the normal guards weren't part of the attack. The guard shrugged as he opened the gate for the small reptile, not caring much for reasons. "Also, my friends are going to be arriving too. I don't know exactly when they'll be here, but it'll be soon, so don't lock up just yet," Serhis said as he passed. He knew that the others would start going towards the gate as soon as they saw Serhis enter, so he figured he could speed things up a bit. However, he couldn't stay to see. If they were going to split up, it would be better if he left immediately. Barely hearing the guard acknowledge his words, Serhis took off into the streets of the city, down side alleys and gardens, dearly hoping the others would reach the hideout unhindered.

Feeling that he was far enough into the city, Serhis found an open garden and leapt upwards, his wings beating furiously as he gained height. Reaching the top of the nearest roof, he didn't dare go any higher and landed in a crouch and glanced around to see if anyone, either some random passer-by or an active observer, saw him. Seeing neither, Serhis made his way by roof deeper over the maze of rooftops. If anyone was watching the roads, Serhis hoped that they wouldn't be paying attention to anything happening overhead.

As Serhis slowly made progress, his mind had time to absorb the impact of what had occurred tonight. The implications many, the known reasons few. Sitting on the side of a tower to rest before his next flight across a long street, he dwelled on the dreams, the events leading up to now, and the behavior of the Elders. Even now, the dreams became more and more vivid, more lucid and easier to recall each passing night. The more he and his hatch mates seemed to concentrate on these dreams, the more easily they had managed to remember them each passing day, but now they seemed to pale to what he was feeling now. He had nothing else to call it but déjà vu and tonight, it was out in force.

The sense that this had happened before, or at least something similar. An attack in the middle of the night, a frantic escape, conspiracy and lies. Not all of them felt connected, but the whole of it... that was something Serhis' couldn't describe. One thing he was utterly certain of now was that something about these dreams were real. Berguio had been right to say that they were images, not dreams. Having rested enough and waiting for the clouds to cover the moon, Serhis sailed the night winds and arrived in the forest.

Traveling on foot, Serhis still felt the need to watch his back. Every so often, he would wait behind a tree, listening for the sounds of paws treading on dry leaves and rustling grass, but so far, nothing, and he went on. Even in the dead of night, he could remember which tree held the hideout and after a brief search for the rope, he ascending into the tree and quickly made the stairs fold back as soon as he reached the top. Looking around, he saw that no one else had made it yet. He expected as much, none of the others had the advantage of flight, but even so, the wait while he was alone put him on edge. Taking the spyglass from the table, Serhis scanned the city for signs of trouble.

For each minute that passed, Serhis forced himself to keep calm and watch the forest floor. He was began to think that the whole idea about meeting in the hideout was a bad idea. Doubts riddled his conscience. Even if they all did meet here, what would be their next move? Striking back at their aggressors wasn't an option, he had no clue where these attacks were originating from and trying to find the people that originally observed them meant exposing themselves. Telling of this publicly might be a possibility, but an extremely risky one as well. From the way the attack was made, it was as if they didn't fear the repercussions of their actions. He could try and receive some aid from the children when they arrived sometime later tomorrow, since they would almost always come here if the hatch mates weren't available, but it risked exposing them to danger. Serhis immediately banished the thought.

As he sat and stared out at the slumbering city from the top of the trees, Serhis looked to his back. The way to the Elder's Council was not without danger and risk. Actually meeting them would carry far more. Iskdiwercaesin's thought that it may be any or even all of the Elders being involved in this hung in his mind. However, no action they would take was without their own risks. If any of the Elders were behind this, then any other action they could take would be pointless. If not, then there was a chance he could convince them to help, as well as find an explanation for these events and dreams.

Elder Karui did mention that he had been called to a late Council meeting. If this was going to take as long as their meetings usually did, there was a chance he could see them if he went to them immediately. Putting down the spyglass he had been using, Serhis paused as he walked halfway across the platform. Serhis considered waiting for the others, but he couldn't risk the Elders finishing their meeting. If he was already too late, then he could come back. If worse came to worst and the Elders truly were involved in their attempted murder, then it would be best if the others weren't with him, since at least he had wings to fly away if that was the case. Going over the wide entangled branches, it's length covered in pools of dim moonlight, Serhis ruefully wondered if the whole purpose of their meeting was about the assault. He didn't have the stomach for irony tonight.

Serhis saw the dim torch fire of the Elders' Council up ahead, illuminating the tops of the walls as guards patrolled back and forth over it. With great care, he crept overhead. When he got to the other side, he realized he had been holding his breath the whole time and gave a shaky exhale as he pulled the lever to extend the stairs downward. From the look of the firelight still shining from inside the main Council building, it looked as if the Elders were still there. Tugging the rope, the stairs receded back into the tree. Whichever way things went, he wouldn't need to go this way again.

Staying in the shadows, Serhis waited until the closest patrol had passed and darted from the tree, his clawed feet digging into the grass as he ran. He almost ran too fast and nearly rammed into the stone walls of the Elder's Council. Again, he kept to the shadows as he found a window and peered inside, finding no one in the room. The window would have been too small for most adult kobolds, but Serhis got through after a tight fit. Now inside, he could relax if only the smallest bit.

The Elder Council building wasn't built like most others in the city. If he had been looking at it from the sky, it would have looked as if two elliptical circles crossed each other in the middle while a square half the size of the circles sat in the middle. Where the circles intersected, the large cylinder tower rose upwards into a pinnacle. That intersection was where the Elders usually held their meetings. Cautious of any guards in the building, Serhis exited the room and into one of the main hallways and walked towards the main chamber.

As Serhis got closer, he began to hear the faintest noises of someone talking, then as he went on, of a heated conversation. The Elders were still in the building. Seeing the large doors to the main chamber and the one that lead outside, Serhis remained wary of guards. There was a pair guarding the outside, he was sure of that, but there weren't any internally, the hallway was empty. Reaching to open the doors, Serhis' claws stopped as he began to hear the Elder's voices.

"-n't any reason they can't find them! What's taking so long?!" Serhis could make out Berguio's voice brimming with anger. Somehow, he had expected that.

"This wouldn't be an issue if you weren't so impatient. You've made thing extremely difficult and we don't need you making things worse by demanding more of the Fangs." Karui was in there as well. From the way they were speaking, Serhis' chest was beginning to feel tight as he listened. If they were talking about him and his hatch mates, then they were responsible for the attack.

"Impatient?! I was the one who discovered what your lack of diligence failed to notice! You were too trusting when the one you spoke to said he didn't recall any images. Only when I confronted him directly about it did he confess," Berguio retorted. Serhis' guts froze. They might not have said his name, but there was little doubt who they were talking about. To hear that Karui was also part of this almost made him feel ill. Thinking that his hopes were gone, Serhis began to turn away from the door.

"You didn't need to confront him like you did! If you hadn't approached him like an enemy, the situation would still be salvageable. By sending the Fangs, you've completely destroyed any chance of that now!" Karui spat back. Serhis hesitated, not sure if he should stay. It sounded like not all of them were in agreement, or at least between Karui and Berguio, he didn't hear any of the other Elders voice their opinions. He wanted to leave, but at the same time, Serhis wanted to keep listening, hoping to hear the reason for all of this.

"Better if they hadn't been approached at all! Our edict would have been strictly obeyed and no one would have approached them aside from doing business. You should have done more to control your granddaughter and the band of troublemakers. From what I've heard they've been asking far too many questions for my liking," Berguio said.

"Don't you dare involve my family in this!" Karui erupted, his voice booming through the thick chamber doors.

"Both of you, that's enough," a calmer voice of a much lower volume spoke. Serhis wasn't sure, but it sounded like Elder Cahji. "I'm sorry Karui, but Berguio is right in that regard. You should have limited contact between those children and them until we were sure the effects had taken hold." Serhis wanted to know what effects she was referring to, but without asking directly, he wasn't going to find out. "Don't look so smug Berguio, you're not blameless in this either. Your use of the Fangs was impulsive and rash."

"You're hardly in a position to say that Cahji. I've already compromised enough for you in this situation and from what I've heard my actions are vindicated. When the Fangs went into their home, they had already prepared with deadly force!" Berguio said.

"Only because they realized they had been watched! You're not the only one to have spoken with the Fangs and I've heard how the one you assigned to the task was so publicly exposed. If they truly were malicious, they would have dealt with her silently without her even realizing she'd been found out. As for their trap, they were acting to protect themselves," Karui pointedly said.

"I said that's enough," Cahji spoke again. "Debate is pointless right now. Until the Fangs find them, we will wait here. We know that they've yet to pass the boundary, so they are still somewhere near. Once they have been found, then we can discuss what comes next. Blaming one another will do nothing to help."

Cahji seemed to have settled things as Serhis didn't hear anything more than a grumble. Now he was even more concerned since they spoke as if a breach in the boundary would alert them. If they fled, this would complicate the matter even more, though leaving everything they had behind to journey into the unknown wilds was bad enough. He wasn't certain what he should do. If he left and went back to the others, they still had a chance to leave. Confronting the Elders would be a bold risk. It sounded like not everyone approved of Berguio's actions, but at the same time they were deeply involved in manipulating him. He had no idea what they would do if they saw him, though Berguio had made his position abundantly clear. He wasn't even sure what revealing himself would accomplish.

And yet, Serhis still felt the need to enter. If he ran away with the others, the questions left unanswered would hound him wherever he went. This would be the only chance to know. Gathering his courage, he stood in front of the door and knocked.

"What have you found?" he heard Berguio ask, clearly expecting someone else.

"I've found a chance for the truth," Serhis replied. There was a great deal of shuffling behind those doors as they heard his voice.

"We need the guards now!" Berguio inhaled to bellow, only for Karui to interrupt.

"No. We won't make this worse than it already is. If they want the truth, they deserve to know."

"Remember Berguio, this is a Council. Act any further on your own accord and I'll vote to throw you out," Cahji said. The doors hadn't even opened and they were already divided. Pushing them open, Serhis entered the Elder's Council chamber.

The chamber was large and open, though there were four pillars supporting the tower above. The pillars served as a form of boundary, the edges of a circle connecting all of them. In this circle the floor was slightly raised with seven chairs standing in a ring around a table, each chair seemed to have been expertly carved as the backboards displayed intricate symbols and scenes. Whether this reflected the Elder that sat in these chairs or if it was simply for decoration, Serhis didn't know. Made of the same seamless white stone, the chamber was lit by a ring of torches on the walls and a smaller ring at the edge of the raised circle, but they weren't the only source of light. Moonlight shone down though a series of high windows made of stained glass, the windows forming yet another ring high above on the roof. The images in these windows were unfamiliar to Serhis as well, images of kobolds with distinguishing features and fur markings, each carrying a personal symbol. It seemed that a few of the more intricate symbols were also etched in the chairs, but one stood out among the rest, a double-headed spear with a fang on the chest of an imposing kobold that was the center of attention among the others. Though the chamber had a stone floor, parts of it were of uncovered earth, allowing for large plants to grow. Vines crept up the pillars and the walls, giving color to an otherwise stark white space.

Standing at the open door, Serhis didn't walk in any further. As he looked around, he saw the Elders standing near their seats, but instead of the full seven, only three were here. Karui kept a neutral expression as he looked at Serhis, one that Cahji shared, but Berguio had looked very tempted to throw a spell at him when the door opened. The Elders said nothing as he stood there, so Serhis walked forward, deeper into the chamber. The more he looked at the place, the more it seemed like a temple as well as a seat of government. When he reached the inner ring, he stopped, waiting for the Elders to say something.

It was Karui that first broke the silence. "Where are the others?" he asked.

"I don't know," Serhis answered. He expected for Berguio to claim he was lying, but the outburst didn't come.

Cahji was the one to ask the next question, striking into the heart of the matter. "I expect you're here because of the assault on your home. What is it you wanted to accomplish by approaching us?"

"I wasn't certain. When I came here, I thought it would either to ask for your assistance in learning about our attackers. Instead, I arrived to hear some of your discussion. Not all of it, but certainly the important parts," Serhis tried to keep his voice calm, not wanting to take an accusing tone.

"You have our apologies. Watching you was our decision, but the attack wasn't," Karui gave a side glance at Berguio. The Elder mage was keeping himself contained, for the moment.

"And? You still haven't answered the question. What did you want by entering? I'd also like to learn how you got past the guards," Berguio sternly asked.

"I asked to walk through," Serhis kept his answer vague and unspecific. If he told of the passage that went over the walls, it would lead them to the hideout where the others were still going to gather. He also still had the promise to keep. "As for why I approached you all, I just want to know why. Why the attacks? Why the dreams? Why all the attention on us now?"

Berguio looked baffled, but it was Karui that voiced his thoughts aloud. "They still don't know."

"How could they not know?! All their recent activity pointed towards them resisting the enchantments! Even if they didn't figure it out yet, they're well on the way to doing so," Berguio tried to turn the argument in his direction.

"That's because you keep interpreting their every move in the worst possible light," Cahji said to Berguio before looking at Serhis. "I think it's time we stopped the deception. It isn't fair to them or to us."

"Can someone give me an answer then?!" Serhis yelled, all the tension of the night boiling to the surface. "All I know now is the images are something real! I keep thinking that they are, but something also keeps telling me that I should forget them, that they aren't and I don't know what to think anymore! Sometimes I try and remember some things and I can't, not because I think I can't recall it, but because I can feel it's not there! I think of all the spells that can do this and memory modification is the one of the thing I can think of or that none of this is real, but I kept wanting to think it wasn't true! Tell me, is it?"

Karui seemed to stiffen because of the outburst and Berguio looked deeply insulted. However, Cahji only seemed to be saddened. "This is real, but half of your memories aren't. The rest of the Council isn't here to vote, but I think it's long past that time," she said to the others. On that point, they had an agreement. "I don't think it would have matter in the long term anyway. All of them seemed to be resisting. Better if we tell them and they forgive us for what we've done."

"Forgive? I still stand by my vote for their complete removal and I'm certain the others do as well!" Berguio yelled.

"And mine is still towards reversing what we've done to them, as are the others. Don't think that your opinion is the only one that matters," Karui said.

Even as the Elders bickered, Serhis' mind was racing through the implications. Half of his memories? It wasn't hard to infer that what he had previously labeled as dreams were the real ones, but what did it mean for him? It felt as if those memories belonged to a different person, but that may have been about the enchantments they have placed on him. One question burned the brightest of all the rest. "Why?"

"This would be simpler if we could remove the spells. You would understand things better, but I think you can still comprehend them as you are now," Cahji heard Serhis' question. "We can't remove the enchantment until the rest of the Council is here. They left earlier this evening after we had informed them about Berguio's actions. As things are, we can't leave this situation as they stand."

"We certainly can't," Berguio grumbled. "If these things are resisting the spells, then my decision still stands."

"Why are you so hostile towards me? Why did you even have to do these things to me?!" Serhis shouted at Berguio.

"Because you're an outsider! A stranger that knows too much and could endanger us all," Berguio shouted back with equal anger.

"A stranger that has also performed a noble deed. Are you so quick to dismiss that Berguio?" Karui looked at Serhis to explain things further. "When you first arrived here, the council was effectively split about what to do. No one found has found us in generations, and even those that did were from other tribes, not someone who was completely alien to us, there was no precedent to go on. You weren't hostile and not only that, you were aiding one of our lost ones back to us."

"Then why the deceptions? If I did something like that, why did you do this to us?" Serhis' voice still carried some heat. The thought of anyone going into his mind, rearranging them as they saw fit revolted him to his core.

"Haven't you been listening? You are a stranger! We didn't know if you were using one of our own as a means to find us and deceive us with your so-called noble act! We still don't know and I am not willing to endanger our tribe by letting this danger go," Berguio said with a passion. "As soon as the rest of the Council learn that this little experiment has failed, they will side with me in these things being eliminated," Berguio said to the others.

"Don't be so quick to judge! Because your magic didn't work doesn't mean they mean us ill and I won't have you twisting the situation to your advantage," Karui said.

Serhis didn't have the patience for the Elders' bickering and even less when one of them outright said that he was going to kill him and the others. "The one that I helped, it's Baous, isn't it? He's the only other one that has these... parallel memories," he finally thought of a description for what had been gnawing on his mind. "Are you going to kill him too? Just for looking for his past?"

"Grr. This one is far smarter than is healthy," Berguio said. "And when I mean eliminated, I don't mean killing you. I meant destroying all of your memories. Top to bottom. No more risk of your past rising to the fore again."

Serhis was not any more thrilled to have his mind toyed with again, and to such a degree. It would be same as dying. "I won't let you do that. Not willingly. I won't let you do what you will to me or the others."

"We won't force you to, but hear what we have to say first," Cahji said. "The reason we didn't destroy your memories is because we wished to learn what you know. We have remained isolated for millennia, content with staying that way from the world at large and remaining hidden, yet we want to know what has occurred while we have been hiding for so long. Many questions needed to be answered. Was there anyone expanding in our direction? How much has the world changed? How much does the world still know of us? Were there any still hunting for us? So many questions. So we gave you other memories to mask what you had, so that when we knew for sure that the spells had held firm, we could peel them away without your notice as you slept. It would have taken a long while to go through the memories of an entire lifetime. As you might already be figuring out, leaving a way into your past allowed for you to learn of them as you dreamt."

"You could have asked us. We would have told things to you willingly. We might have kept things to ourselves, but that's the whole reason for this, right? To keep things secret? Don't we deserve to have some things to ourselves as well?" Serhis said.

Karui and Cahji's expression shifted, looking hurt as they took the cleric's words personally. "We didn't understand you at the time. We didn't know if you could be trusted. We've learned since then. You are a noble soul, but we had to make sure."

"I'm not entirely convinced," Berguio kept his expression solid. "You were barely here a day and you've done some questionable things. I don't believe that you would meet Baous just by coincidence. You read a private document in Karui's possession and lied to him about not having unusual images. And now you've barged into our most secure sanctum!"

"Only because I didn't know that they were relevant at the time! None of us did until we began thinking about it in detail! As for my meeting Baous again even after you made me forget about him, yes, that was a chance encounter and I don't care if you believe it or not. As for coming here, what choice did I have?! My friends and myself were attacked in the night in our own home... our home," Serhis considered the word, not sure if it applied to that wooden structure anymore. It felt like he had known that old hut forever and that it was only a place he had been inhabiting for a short time. He forced his mind back on the situation, unable to afford getting distracted. "Where else were we suppose to go? I know none of the other Elders so I couldn't go to their homes and Karui was suppose to be in Council. I couldn't approach the guards about this for fear of one of them being a member of the group you call the Fangs and if they weren't, all I would have done is reveal myself before I got to you. If anything, I should be the one enraged about my life was threatened and my mind invaded!"

The Elders present considered what Serhis had said as he stood in front of them. Karui nodded sadly. "I doubt there is little we can do except apologize. What else would you have us do? Your memories will be restored in time, neutralizing the spell ourselves would speed up the process, but otherwise you will remember everything, your friends as well. Would you want to forget what we have given you, to forget everything that has happened?"

"The first thing I want is for you to stop hunting my friends," Serhis demanded.

"That request has already been fulfilled. As soon as we learned of Berguio's actions, the others of the council voted to rescind the kill order. The vote was by a narrow margin," Cahji said. "The Fangs were to escort you and the others here."

"What would you have done if they had caught us?" Serhis asked.

"... we have yet to decide on that. The others of the Council decided that we end our session this evening since we learned that you had escaped the attack and we didn't know how long it would take for them to find you again. We decided to stay here to discuss the issue," she gestured to Karui and Berguio.

"What is there to discuss? We want to know what's real! Even as I'm seeing what is false and true, some things are still murky. I can't tell how long we've been like this. A week? A month? Longer?"

"It's been two weeks since you arrived," Karui informed him. "At first, we thought you had adapted remarkably to your new life. Clearly we were mistaken. We thought someone might have defied our edict to treat you as if you were here all the time."

"And now you see that's not the case. You still haven't told me what you were going to do. You might not have decided on anything yet, but what were the options? How were you going to manipulate our fates even further without our knowledge or willingness?" Serhis asked, curious on how far they would have gone.

"As you've heard, one suggestion was to wipe your memories clean. We would lose the chance to learn about the outside world, but there wouldn't be any more chances that you'd get them back. Might I remind you that option is still on the table," Berguio said to Karui and Cahji.

"No, it isn't. We've already done too much to them already," Karui opposed his fellow Elder. "However, I can't say the other one is much better. We would have taken your false memories, much easier than the real ones, but then we would erase all knowledge of us. Your journey, how you found our city, and of your time here. We would release you and you would be free to go on your own path. It wouldn't be a perfect altercation of your memory, but you won't be plagued by the dreams of a life before."

"So you're saying we don't have much of a choice. We would lose something either way," Serhis' shoulders shuddered as he tried to contain himself. "What are you trying to protect? What secret is worth all this?"

"The last of our civilization," Cahji said. It wasn't with pride or conviction, but a simple acknowledgement. "One of the things we've learned from you is what the outside world still knows of us, and it is very little. You have taken great efforts to learn about us, efforts that others won't share. We are now secure in the knowledge that no one will stumble upon us either on accident or on purpose."

"But why? Why do you hide? The First War is over. I can't imagine what it's like to lose your deity, but that doesn't mean someone would start attacking you because they know you're still alive," Serhis said.

"You are wrong about that. Deities hold grudges that last for a long time, past many lifetimes. I'd also imagine what a tempting target we'd make for any opportunist, thinking that our crumbling city would hold valuable treasures. They'd be wrong, we are still strong, but our numbers are so few that we can't risk losing anyone in a needless battle," Berguio said.

"Unfortunately, I'm in agreement with Berguio here Serhis. If any word of our city was let loose, we would be ill prepared to deal with the consequences. Few races survive the death of their deities, but we have been trying to recover. It is slow and I hope that someday we will be able to face the world again, but now that isn't possible," Karui said.

Serhis felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He wanted to say something, shout at them, tell them that they were wrong. He could only hope that they weren't set in their ways. Instead, he sighed. "If... if I had a choice, I would be willing to forget this place. I don't want to trouble you any more. I can't fight you all and I don't want to hurt most of you either," he made an exception for Berguio. "But I want to know how much I will forget."

"So you'll submit to our judgment? You won't resist?" Berguio asked cautiously.

Serhis slowly nodded. He wasn't in a position to fight. He had no weapons, wore no armor and all his spells had been dedicated to healing. He was also unnerved by the idea of even attempting to attack them, despite what they were going to do. He couldn't exactly call Karui a friend, but he was one of the few that treated him and his hatch mates well during their stay here. There was also Cahji, who he knew little about, but the thought of assaulting someone who was pregnant revolted him. As for running, that was still an option, but not a pleasant one. Assuming he and the others could slip out of the city again, none of them had the skills to survive in the wild comfortably. Iskdiwercaesin and Rhasalis certainly could, but only barely. Climbing back over the mountains would be suicidal. They would have no supplies and no shelter, not to mention the goblin attacks along the way. In effect they would be stuck on this part of the continent, trying to scratching a living off the ground. Then there would be the Fangs, who would hunt them for the secrets they carried.

Fight or flight, neither would end well. Perhaps this way, they would be released with what they had when the came here and make their way back over the mountains. But... one things kept bothering him. Baous. Their whole reason for being here. "Will you make Baous forget as well? He came here looking for anyone connected to his past or who knew his parents? Is he going to have to go back, never knowing he succeeded?"

"... he will not be returning with you," Cahji said.

"What?! I thought you said you would release us after you erased our memories of this place!" Serhis shouted.

"We would release everyone else, yes, but we can't allow one of our lost children to wander aimlessly," Karui said solemnly. "It would be irresponsible. After all his effort in finding us, we would not turn him away."

"We also can't allow him to leave. As you have noticed, it requires one of our kind to reach this place and to pass through the barriers without danger. Letting him loose would mean that if anyone still knew about kobolds, they could use him to find us," Berguio said.

"You're going to make me forget about him as well, aren't you?" Serhis felt a cold realization wrap around him.

"Yes. Every memory pertaining to him would be gone. We would have to do some detailed work to fix any inconsistencies, but with time, you would remember nothing," Cahji said. "Please don't think of us as cruel. We do what we must to protect the many others that are in this city. As the Elder Council, we must decide on some unpleasant decisions, even if it's towards one of our own."

"If we were to let him leave with you, you would be right. All that he learned here would be removed. All you would recall is finding an empty and desolate place, devoid of life and worth. If you were to recall the experience to anyone, they would only hear of what you found, not how you accomplished it," Karui said.

"We'll still have to worry about any others that he may have come into contact with as he came here," Berguio said to the others of the Council. "I don't think we'll be able to deal with that problem. We just have to hope that they won't think anything of it, but the main link between him and this bunch and by severing that, I think that'll be enough."

As the Elders began a discussion about any other potential risks, Serhis stood and stared at them, a blank look on his face as he considered the implications. To have a friend so close to him banished from his memories was never something he considered and it frightened him. What more would they take? Serhis wanted to protest, but restrained himself. He had to consider what Baous would want. "Would he forget about us if he stayed?" Serhis asked.

"If he stayed, then all that would be erased would be the false memories we gave him. I'd think it would be too confusing for him otherwise," Cahji said. "He would remember everything as they are. He will then be raised to know what he should always have known, a safe and happy life. I would think he would hate us for taking the few friends he ever had," she sounded full of sincere regret.

Serhis didn't want to forget. He didn't want to lose a friend to oblivion. It wouldn't be like losing a friend to time and death, it would be as if he never was. He wanted to cling to every scrap of memory jealously, to let none of it go. But, Baous had searched so hard for this place. If Baous left, it would mean he would keep searching the rest of the world, likely without success because he had already found what he had been looking for. He would be forced to forget and think all he found was the dust of a memory.

He didn't want to selfishly keep his memories at the cost of another's happiness. If he had to forget, Serhis thought to himself that at least he wouldn't even the chance to regret it all, since he wouldn't remember any of this. At the very least, Baous would remember their friendship, even if he himself couldn't.

"I think that's the last of the details," Berguio had lost the hard edge to his voice, seeming satisfied with how things were turning out. "Now that we're done compromising," he said with a stern look to the others, making it clear that he didn't approve of everything, "we must prepare the ritual. You, prepare yourself and don't resist like last time," he pointed at Serhis.

Serhis nodded, feeling that if he had to resign himself to his fate, he would go willingly. He felt bitter about having demanded to learn answers, only to find he would lose the questions, but again, he wouldn't have a chance to regret. Closing his eyes, Serhis steeled himself for whatever arcane energies Berguio might wield.

"STOP!" A shout echoed through the open chambers as the doors were shoved open. Baous stood at the opened way, glaring defiance to the Elders. He looked to have been roughed up, his fur was mussed and his clothing was almost in shambles, the left sleeve on his shirt completely torn off.

Serhis was as surprised as the Elders as they turned to face Baous. "What are you doing here?! How much have you heard?!" Berguio shouted back, not happy about another interruption.

"To stop this from getting any worse. As for how long I've been listening, I heard enough. The earliest was the part about our memories being fake. I'm not going to let Serhis or any of the others have their memories changed because of me, not any more," Baous said.

"You can remember?" Serhis asked.

Baous seemed to concentrate, his eyes lowing a little as he thought. "I don't think I can remember everything. I'm sure there's a few parts that I don't know about. I was hoping that they would tell me what those parts are."

"How did you get in here?" Berguio demanded, bewildered that another intruder got through.

"I came through the front gate. The guard let me in when I said I needed to see the Elders urgent. He only needed to look at me to let me pass."

"What are the guards doing?! We might as well let everyone in if they let the reptile in without explanation," Berguio said in exasperation. He had assumed that when he asked Serhis earlier, he meant the guards to the Council, not the city gates, and Serhis was fine with letting the arrogant mage believe that false assumption.

"That may be due to us declaring an emergency session. They think that an exception can be made. That's not important now. What happened to you Baous?" Cahji said with genuine concern.

"I was hoping one of you could tell me," Baous took a black cloth out from one of his pockets. He held it up, showing a hood with the symbol of the spear and fang. "I got this from whoever was trying to attack me in my sleep," he said while successfully hiding how jumpy he was.

This seemed like a bad running theme between them all, Serhis thought. They couldn't sleep anywhere without a chance of getting ambushed. Then again, it was a popular tactic and they seemed to have made it their skill in avoiding the worst of it.

As the Elders looked at the hood, each of their expressions showed their inner thoughts. Karui regarding the hood with a critical eye and not liking where this was leading. Cahji staring in a mix of shock and horror. Berguio trying to give an expression at all and was succeeding for the most part.

"Berguio, what did you do? Did your kill order extend to him as well?" Cahji said, the shock fading into anger.

"No, of course not!"

"Then what were those two thugs doing in my house?" Baous seemed equally interested in why he had been targeted.

Berguio's façade of calm was cracking again now that he had drawn the ire of his fellow Elders. "It seemed a cautious course of action. With all the others recalling more and more, I couldn't chance him remembering any more as well and endangering everything else. I sent a pair of Fangs to retrieve him and bring him to the Council until the situation was resolved. Unconscious," he assured the others.

"What other orders have you given the Fangs that you haven't told us about?!" Cahji said with great intensity, stepping in front of Berguio, snarling and enraged.

"Nothing! Those were the only ones I gave," Berguio back away, only for his seat to catch his foot and making him fall into it.

"I would hope so. The Council will not look kindly on any other actions you've taken with the Fangs without our knowledge. There will be an investigation," Karui said.

"And what about us? I won't let you mess with our heads again," Baous said.

"... that choice is not to be yours," Karui said.

"Then whose?! Yours?! These are my memories and no one can say what I can or can't remember!" The sound of Baous' shouts echoed throughout the chamber in an almost deafening clamor.

"The others of the council still have their votes. We have to wait-" Berguio tried to say before Baous cut him off again.

"Are you even listening to me?! I heard what you said about wanting to stay hidden from everyone else, but you never thought to ask us if we'd keep it a secret for you? I spent my whole life wondering if there was another kobold like me out there or if I was the only one left. Do you think I want to hurt any of you after doing so much to find you? All my life I dreamed about finding this place, finding someone who'd tell me about my past and what I need to know and a family that would welcome me with open arms." Baous paused as he considered the words that erupted from himself without thought. "But, that doesn't mean I don't care about the family that did raise me and took me into their home. I love them too, but I need to know what happened to my birth parents. Why did they leave their own home? Where were they going? Why did they take me with them?"

The Elders stood silent as Baous thought aloud. Karui nodded, breathing out a sigh. "I admit, we didn't give you the welcome you deserved, lost child of our tribe. We were so consumed with panic about outsiders finding us, we overreacted. If there is someone who can answer your questions, we will give you time with them," Karui looked at Cahji.

"When we first voted to replace your memories, the alternative was that you would die to protect our secrets. Karui, two others, and myself voted to spare you death, while Berguio and the last two Elders voted for death. I am ashamed to say the option to leave you as you were didn't enter our minds," Cahji said.

"However one things remains for certain. We can't let anyone else know that our people still exist until we are strong again. We were voted onto the Council because we had the people's best interests in mind as well as their trust in protecting them. We cannot let them leave here knowing everything," Berguio had regained him compose as he spoke to the others.

"Then please trust us! I can't speak for my hatch mates and Iskdiwercaesin, they have minds and opinions of their own, but I don't wish harm on you or those you protect," Serhis stepped forward with arms spread out as he pleaded to them. "What else can we do to prove this?"

The Elders didn't answer. They looked at one another with knowing glances, speaking to one another without words. "In light of our fellow Elder's... overreaction, I propose we hold a session tomorrow to debate about their fates. In the meantime, the hunt for them is to be called off," Cahji said. Karui gave another nod. Berguio nodded as well, albeit with extreme reluctance.

Serhis stared hard at the Elders, wondering what they were going to discuss. Now that Baous had outright rejected any further changes to their memories, he would stand firm with him. He wasn't sure what they would do if the Elders voted to try anyway, but at the very least, they would consider leaving them as they were.

"Karui, go with Berguio to rescind the order. I wish to remain here and give them the answers they worked so hard to find," Cahji reclined in her seat. The two walked towards the doors, Karui with a look of contemplation that Berguio shared, though the mage didn't seem completely convinced.

As the door closed behind them, Serhis and Baous faced Cahji, curious about what she had to say. "What happens now?" Serhis asked.

"What happens is that you will ask and I will answer," Cahji replied, her expression softening considerably now that the other Elders had left.

She looked... Serhis didn't know how to describe it. He wasn't skilled in telling the expressions of others, never mind other species though his time with Baous had helped him understand that looking at the eyes and ears of canine kobolds tended to help. It seemed like a mixture of relief, sadness, and the contemplation that the other Elders had. "I understand the need to keep this place a secret. My own home, Lehaskeral, is also hidden from the eyes of others, even though we trade with a small village, but we have the benefit of a mountain to protect ourselves. What I want to know is if there is anyone or a particular group that still hunts you? And for what reason? I understand the part about greed, but is there really a deity that would seek you out?"

"That depends. Which deities hold power now? We've been so isolated from the world that all we know for certain is that they waged another war after we hid ourselves away, but we don't know the results. If the deities that were our enemies have fallen from grace, then they're likely not to concern themselves with us."

"And which deities were those?" Serhis asked. Cahji listed a small number of names, few of which Serhis recognized, and none that held power in this era.

"I see. If things hadn't turned out as they did, if you and the others didn't regain your former memories, we would be digging through them right now to see if those deities had gained prominence," Cahji said.

"Why would they hunt you... us?" Baous corrected himself, now aware that other canine kobolds existed. "Is there any other reason except that there was a war in the past that probably only immortal things can remember them?"

"It's complicated. No, before you start asking me to explain, I don't know all the details. I can tell you what I know. We have plenty of time now," she shifted a bit in the padded chair, getting comfortable.

"Then can you please explain what you do know?" Serhis asked.

Cahji leaned her head back, her long fur pressing against the soft material of the chair. "Most of what I know is only due to my position as Elder, and only because I've been parsing through the ancient records from time to time. From what I understand, the deities of the First War before the changes in power were more deeply connected to their creations than today. The only reason I know that is because of what little we learned from you," she pointed to Serhis. "Where most sapient beings can chose which deity they wish to follow as long as they share some core principles, there were those before the First War that were essentially bonded to their creator. That link has faded now, but back then, it must have been a compelling thing to know that your fate was in some way linked to your deity. If they should rise, some of that fortune would be reflected back on their people. If they were to fall, well, the consequences are all around us." Cahji spread her arms out, indicating not the chamber they stood in, but that they inhabited and the state of the people.

"We spoke to an Archon during our search for you. She spoke of the history you had and the fall of Farukf," Serhis informed her.

She looked surprised. "So there are still some that remember the war. I suppose our concerns still have some grounding in reality."

"But she's not an enemy. She helped us," Baous said.

"Perhaps. As I was saying, the fate of our ancestors was bonded to Farukf. When he was slain, disasters struck them. Tragedies that he could have protected us from could no longer be prevented and what enemies remained hunted them down in their weakened state. Seeing no other choice, our ancestors fled their homes to find hidden refuges like this. None of the records said why we were hunted. I guess perhaps to eliminate the last threat they faced or maybe even out of petty spite of a defeated enemy."

"And it has left a scar on the minds of your people even after millennia. Being hunted like that must have been traumatic," Serhis said his thoughts aloud.

"Worse than a scar. Tell me, have you noticed something about us during your stay here?" Cahji asked.

As Serhis considered the question, he shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still a bit confused about the customs of some of the races that live above ground. Uh, that I can understand you perfectly and that you can do the same? What language are we talking in?" he realized he didn't know the language that was coming out of his mouth before he was subjected to memory alteration.

"The language of kobolds. It was to ease your transition and to help us look into your memories, but that wasn't what I meant. What is strange is that we have no clerics. No one is able to use the divine magic of any deity, even if they wished to worship another. We can still commune with nature and use arcane spells, that is why we have druids and mages, but no one in recorded history has been able to ask the aid of another deity. At first, the records show that our ancestors originally thought that they were deliberately ignoring us, but as time went on, they realized it was due to Farukf. The way he died, sealing himself in his realm with all that power... it must have done something to our bond."

"The Archon did mention that something strange happened when your souls departed the mortal plane. Even she doesn't know what happens after that," Serhis said.

"It's a mystery to us as well, even after all this time. I know of a few that have dedicated themselves to finding out what happens to us after we die, but after millennia of others trying to find the answer as well, I doubt they'll find the answer. We still have those that worship Farukf, but I think it's because worshipping any other deity is just as pointless. There's even a cult that believes that if enough people worship him, he will be resurrected. I don't follow that belief," Cahji said.

"Is there more?" Baous asked.

"Of our history? Aside from hiding from the world for all this time, the formation of the Elder Council and the hardships endured until now, no. No great victories, no grand distinctions, no mind-shattering revelations. All that's happened is stagnation and what little growth we can afford."

"How could this be? After so long, shouldn't you be stronger than this? Kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen many times, but it looks like the kobolds here barely ever leave the forest," Serhis said.

"A consequence of the devastation we had to endure. We needed to maintain a balance as we grew. If we tried to develop quickly, expanding beyond our borders, we would also be quickly noticed. Simply put, we don't have the numbers. So we grow slowly as the forest, expanding when there is enough to sustain that growth. There has been fierce debate from those that support the notion that we should expand anyway, taking all the land we can and using every resource possible to grow a new empire. The discussion gets tiresome," Cahji muttered as she expressed her private opinion on the matter.

"There's something I need to know. You said that no one ever leaves the city without a good reason. Why would my parents leave this place? Were they from this city?" Baous asked.

"You are a child of our tribe, there is no mistake of that. I was present at the last departure, but I wasn't an Elder then. It was a small group that wanted to explore the world, to see if any other hidden refuges like ours survived and hopefully establish contact between us. We have a few clues that tell of certain trails to find these places, like the stones that led you here. Again, from the ancient achieves."

"Did they have a group of warriors to protect them?" Serhis suddenly asked.

"Of course. Most of them knew how to survive in the wild and protect themselves," Cahji said.

"No, I meant a full war band," Serhis clarified.

"No. They knew how to protect themselves though," Cahji said.

"Then I think they might have been successful in a small way," Serhis said as he retold the tale of Baous' orphaning. As he finish, he could see Cahji trying to contain her emotions.

"I... We knew something was wrong... even after all those years, I still hoped that they would come back," sorrow choking her words.

Baous had kept quiet as Serhis had told it. Even after the first time, he was still agitated whenever he recalled it. "It is a tragedy. I think that they did manage to find another group, but I don't know if it was just the small war band or if they were connected to another city like yours. I think it's terrible that they finally found something as well, but to be violently attacked like that..." Serhis trailed off. He had said enough.

"To have lived so close to your parents killers. That must have been-"

"I only found out about this a little while ago. Or at least, I think so. It's hard to tell with these mixed up thoughts," Baous said. "If I ever see them, I want to hear what they have to say."

"It is important to know the past. However, at this moment we should be concerned about the present and your future," Cahji gathered herself. "Tomorrow, the rest of the Elders will arrive. While I think we've done enough to you and don't wish anything further, the others will need to be convinced. The Council was narrowly split on the issue from the beginning. I don't know how things will turn out now that a third option has been put forward. It could be that none of the votes will have the needed majority."

"Is there anything we could do to sway their opinions?" Serhis asked.

"You and Baous could be allowed to speak for yourselves. It could be enough to change things," Cahji sounded unsure, though Serhis and Baous knew why. If anyone was as hostile as Berguio, it might not do anything at all. Serhis couldn't fault the mage for wanting to protect those under his charge, but he could dislike him for his aggressive personality and brash actions.

"Are you certain that you want to keep everything? I sorry that we have to subject you to all of this, you have a right to your own thoughts, but we have our own safety to consider. If you were to forget your time here or at least the method it took for you to find this place, it would be easier to convince them. Not much easier, by it would assuage some of their concerns," Cahji asked.

Serhis shook his head. "No. I want the false memories removed, if only because it's confusing at times to recall something and I have to sift through two lifetimes. I still wish to retain my experiences here. It was a peaceful time and I enjoyed it, except for the whole confusing part right now. I also don't want to forget Gaupa, Auin, Haut and Uhap and I'm sure they don't want me to forget as well. No more forgotten friends. Baous?"

"I'm sure. I want to remember this place. I want to find any relatives I might have. I don't know if they'll accept me, but at I at least want to know that they exist. I also want to know why my parents took me with them if I do have relatives here. Why didn't they leave me here if the journey was going to be dangerous?" Baous said.

"You do have relatives here. Though you weren't raised here, your fur markings and your scent made it easy to recall that you were one of the few that left. Even your name, since it's the same one your parents gave you. This Innoc that raised you at least let you have one, small connection that was yours," Cahji said.

"Can you tell me where they are? Could I see them?" Baous asked eagerly.

"Not at this late hour."

"You're familiar with his fur markings and his name and you were there when he left. Did you know his family?" Serhis asked.

Cahji appeared reluctant to say anything, but something crossed her mind and she opened up. "I did say I would ask any question you had. Baous has already met his family. Mostly on the times he was invited to my home to visit and share supper."

Baous "Then you're-!"

"A relative of yours. I am your mother's sister," Cahji nodded. "And so all of my family is also your family."

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Baous said as shock started to set in.

"I didn't want to say anything until after the vote. If you're to forget again, then this is only going to get more painful. It's bad enough that the other Elders know my bias towards you. They say it would influence my decision, and they're right. I already lost my sister, I won't lose another of my family to that damn ritual," Cahji spoke out her more personal feelings.

Baous' jaw hung open. He had so many questions and he now faced someone who could answer, but his mind was blank. With so much to ask, where would he start? Eventually he found one. "If my parents left, why didn't they have to forget?"

"I didn't make myself clear. They did have to forget, at least some things. She would remember me, her life here, but as for a place or where to start to come back, those would be taken from her," Cahji spoke about her sister rather than the whole group. Even after almost fourteen years, she still missed her. "They would know the start of the trail back, though it was very vague information. They didn't know it would require one of their touch to lead them back or that any other race that tried would meet with failure. I learned that from the records of the Council during that time. If they were to find any others during their search, they would trade these starting destinations, then come back. After that, a more formal delegation would be sent. That's not important now. What is important is that you've found your way to us. And I am willing to give you what you've been missing for so long."

Baous should have felt overjoyed. He should have felt elated that all his efforts weren't in vain and that there actually was an end to his search. But at the same time, these relatives he had been seeking saw him as a danger, if indirectly. She had manipulated his memory and those of his companions, though for what could be considered a noble purpose. She and the other Elders might do so again.

And despite all that, he still couldn't help stepping forward to embrace her, hugging her tight as he found a part of himself that had been taken away.

"There there, little nephew. Your journey was long and your life may have been hard, but you found your way here, back to us. I promise you I'll do my best to keep you as you are. I promise," Cahji said, sharing in the embrace.

"I want to know what their names were. I want to know what they were like, what my mom and dad did, how much they loved each other, how much they loved me?" Baous' voice was ragged from the previous shouting and now from the overwhelming emotions. "Do you want me in your family too? Can I see them again, this time I know who I am? Please, tell me. Even if I have to forget everything tomorrow, please, tell me."

"Deete and Aruh loved you very much, I know that for certain. The whole reason they took you with them is because they couldn't bear to be apart from you either. That's the name of your mother and your father, and I promised that you will remember them," Cahji stepped back from the hug, holding Baous by the shoulders. "And of course I would accept you into my family. You already are. My sister would have it no other way, and I'm sure your mother would have been proud to see how you've grown and how strong you've become that you would go so far to find us."

"Thank you... Aunt Cahji," Baous struggled with the word. Innoc and Rose might have relatives of their own, but they were in distant parts. "I wish I could have my mom and da-... my adoptive mom and dad so that you could talk to each other. They're good people and they took very good care of me. I know that's not going to happen since everyone's so worried about this city being a secret."

"I wish I could talk to them as well and thank them for that. If I do manage to convince the others that your memories should stay unaltered, then when you do see them, tell them I said thank you. Since they raised you, it'd be impossible for them to forget you. That's something the other Elders are going to have to accept. If you do decide to tell them about us, I only ask that you don't mention the location of the city, what you did to get here or even mention us to other outsiders. I'm speaking from my position as Elder, not your aunt, but otherwise, it is a secret for you and them."

"Okay. I don't want to put anyone here in danger either," Baous wiped his nose on his sleeve, "but I don't want to talk about business and all that. What about the important things? Like..." he looked at the bulging belly of an expectant mother.

"A new cousin for you and a sibling for Meis. Oh, how am I going to explain that to her that you're actually her cousin. Ah, I'll explain it to her somehow. I'd say I'm expecting in a month or two. You never can tell."

"Did you hear that Serhis? I-" Baous turned around, only to find that Serhis was standing near the door, about to leave.

The cleric wanted to leave quietly, to leave Baous to talk to his aunt in private. "I heard. I wish you the best Cahji and that your new baby is blessed with health. If you'll excuse me, I'll wait outside for you Baous." As Baous nodded in understanding, Serhis left and softly closed the door shut behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day, Serhis waited expectantly with the others as they waited for the Elders to finish their discussions and a vote to be counted. He had explained the situation to the others while Baous was talking with Cahji. He walked out of the Elder's Council and went the long way around back to the hideout, still mindful of anyone following him and finding the direct path between it and the Council. By then, the others had arrived, Iskdiwercaesin dripping wet after his swim in the river in his effort to avoid all the patrols while Rhasalis and Xet were tense after stealthily going from one point to another to reach the hideout. By the end, they also forced their minds past the false memories. Any discussions about these reclaimed memories was cut short when he informed them about what the Elders were going to do now that they were aware. Predictably, none of them liked the idea of leaving their fates to the decision of the Elders, but since any attempt at escape still meant surviving in the wild, they grudgingly accepted in hoping that Cahji and Karui could sway a vote in their favor.

After again going the long way around, they waited for Baous and tried to find some sleep at his home since their own had a large gaping hole in one wall. As the new day dawned, they were summoned by one of the guards to wait outside the Council to hear the decision. That was six hours ago. Their mood was only helped with a lack of breakfast and lunch, though that part had been lessened when Gaupa and the rest of the gang showed up. They weren't supposed to be seeing anybody while they waited, but the children were already there after sneaking in and the guards didn't do anything when they noticed that the group had visitors. The kids were wondering why there had been a huge hole in the hatchmate's home. Uhap had a theory that one of Xet's mixtures exploded, but when Iskdiwercaesin corrected him and then revealed the whole story about the previous night, they all agreed that this version of the tale was much better and even more ecstatic to find out that they could stop acting as if the hatchmates, the wyrmling, and the lost kobold were always from here, and that they could now ask freely about the outside world. Serhis contemplated about not saying anything to them, but since there was a possibility he would never see or remember them again, he figured that there was little harm to be done by telling. If there was, it was harm best given to the Elders.

"So if you were raised by dwarves, why don't you have a long beard?" Haut asked.

"It's going to be a long time before I can do that," Baous replied after giving a long explanation about the more subtle details of Dwarven culture. "I don't know if I have the face for it either."

"He could use the same one my grandpa has, he braids it a little while putting beads in it," Auin said.

Serhis tried to imagine Baous with a beard like that. It didn't come easily. The only thing that seemed to help the impression was when he was contemplative and serious. "If Baous stays with you, then you might see him grow one, if he wanted."

"What I don't get is why those stuffy Elders are so annoying about all this. You're nice people and I know you can keep a secret," Gaupa said.

"Hey, my grandpa is one of those stuffy Elders and so is Baous' aunt!" Auin protested.

"I mean the ones that aren't going to vote to let them keep their memories. Maybe we should have a chance to say something." Serhis and Baous already had given their own words to the Elders a short while ago. From what they could tell, the Elders were mostly divided. Karui and Cahji they knew for certain was on their side, but the other five were less clear. Berguio was impassive and didn't betray his thoughts by expressing anything while the other four either seemed receptive or had their minds set. That didn't mean much, considering the wide array of possibilities. It was either to kill, to force Baous to stay while the others left without their memories, for all of them to leave and to remember nothing about this place, destroying all their real memories so all that were left were the false ones, or to let them be and simply remove the false ones.

"I wish you could, I bet you'd make an excellent speech. They'd have to invite you in first though and I don't think they're going to allow anyone in until they're finished," Serhis said, sitting on the grass with legs stretched out.

"I'd rather go in there and give them a piece of my mind. Mostly because they messed with it," Iskdiwercaesin snorted.

"I hope you're not considering something violent," Serhis said.

"That's my aunt in there and Auin's grandpa," Baous said.

"Bah. They at least better say sorry or something! I'd like to see how'd they like me messing with their own heads. Hey Xet, you know any mind affecting spells?"

"Only one and I don't think it'd be that great of an idea now," Xet replied.

"As long as they know what's good for them and stay away from trying to off us..." Iskdiwercaesin didn't finish his sentence. The kobold children were nervous enough already.

Rhasalis' eyes shifted towards the Elder's Council. "Look, someone's coming," she stood up as a guard approached. The others also rose from the grass.

The approaching figure had a cloak on with the symbol of the Fangs. Serhis had asked the children if they knew what it meant and they only knew that they were supposed to be a fighting force, similar to the war bands, but far more organized and hidden. "The council has reached a decision," the Fang said, her eyes sweeping over the group, though she seemed to pause at the sight of the children. As for Serhis, Baous, Iskdiwercaesin, Rhasalis, and Xet, they kept their eyes on the spear in her hands and the guards around them.

"If you're here to tell us, then I'd suppose it's not to kill us. Either that or you're that stupid," Iskdiwercaesin said.

The Fang looked affronted at the insult, but kept speaking. "Follow me. The Elders would speak to you about the result." As they moved to go, she stopped after taking a few steps. "You children stay here. Nana will be here to get you."

"Does that mean Iskdiwercaesin has to stay too? He's younger than us," Haut said.

"You know what I mean. Go on, get," the irritated Fang shooed them off before leading the others towards the Elders.

As they walked, Iskdiwercaesin muttered in Draconic. "It's going to be hard escaping that place if they are planning to execute us."

The thought had occurred to Serhis. "Then we'll do our best if it comes to that, but I still trust Cahji and Karui to have had a moderating influence."

"I do not doubt it," Baous said.

"You'd better be right," Iskdiwercaesin said.

Nearing the opened doors, as hopeful as Serhis was, he still wanted to prepare for what may come. "Baous, if the rest of the Elders didn't vote the same as Cahji and Karui, what are you going to do?"

"I said I do not want to forget and neither should you," Baous replied. Even with a new language planted into their heads, he was still the same, his somewhat broken Draconic was proof of that.

"I know, I don't want to either, but... what can we do if they still want to do it? We can do little to oppose them." That wasn't entirely true, but with Cahji in the same group that would decide their fate, violence wouldn't be used. "If... if I have to forget you, if we all have to forget you, then it's okay. Like you said with Cahji, at least we knew for a time before we have to forget." It was one option that the Elders had, but it seemed the mostly likely. "If I must never have known you, then please remember us and all the adventures we had, good and bad."

"I will remember. I will always remember. If does have to happen like that, then please try to do that too and remember all you can. No matter if magic is strong, try to keep everything you have," Baous asked of him.

Serhis nodded solemnly as they crossed over the threshold. As the doors closed behind them, the ones leading to the inner chamber where opened. Seven Elders stood in the center of the chamber, all of them out of their seats and facing them. The Fang stayed at the doors as they went closer, the two groups watching one another for any sudden and violent movements.

"The Elder Council has reached a decision," Cahji announced to them, her voice ragged from hours on hours of heated debate, but her face had a neutral expression that the other Elders shared. "However, there is still an issue that must be addressed. In an effort to relieve the concerns of some of my fellows, we are going to ask you to make certain promises to us."

"Uh oh. This doesn't sound good," Iskdiwercaesin muttered.

"These promises will be enforced by a geas, a contract enforced by spells placed upon you. Neglecting or breaking the promise will make the geas harm you and sicken you until you continue to keep these promises or make amends for the ones you've broken. Is this clear?" The group nodded.

"First, you will pledge never to reveal the location of our people to any outsider. It doesn't matter if they're friend or foe, they aren't to find out," Berguio said. Serhis suspected it was he that suggested the geas since it addressed his key concern. "There will be exceptions, but that is for you to find out later."

"You have our promise about that. And what exceptions?" Baous asked.

"That's the second promise. Cahji informed us about the possibility of another group of our people that still might be out there. There's a chance that single war band didn't have a connection to any other city, but if you are to ever find evidence that there is, you are to seek them out. Should they be friendly, contact us so that we may speak to one another."

"Considering the effort needed to find this group, that might be difficult," Rhasalis whispered.

"It's a promise we can keep. Either there is another group or there isn't," Serhis said.

"A slight problem. If there is, how are we going to approach them without getting the same greeting as this bunch?" Xet said.

Xet might have spoken a bit too loudly, the Elders thought that question was directed at them. "We will consider giving you something that would let anyone recognize you as emissaries," one of the Elders said, a young female dressed in a simple tunic and pants.

"Right. If they don't exist at all, no harm done. By the way, what if they're not friendly at all?" Iskdiwercaesin asked.

"Then use your best judgment. Be glad we're giving you any exceptions at all, like if the information was ripped out of your thoughts, the geas will not activate. Try not to run into anyone or anything that can do that," another of the Elders said, an old female wearing a dark purple robe depicting vines growing all over it.

"As for the third promise, it is one we hope you'll never have to fulfill," another Elder spoke, a male in his thirties and wearing a vest with the symbol of the Fangs on his chest.

"Oh, sure, make us swear a promise we won't be able to do," Iskdiwercaesin voiced his thoughts.

"If by some chance we are attacked, you will be sent a message to come to our defense," he continued, ignoring the wyrmling's comment.

"You think that's a real possibility?" Serhis asked skeptically. "As long as we fulfill the previous two, this city is going to remain safely hidden."

"I don't know, but I'm not going to pass up a chance to have anyone help defend our homes," he said.

"... ah damn it. I just realized what they're doing," Iskdiwercaesin said to the others. "It's not you they want the geas on for this. It's me. Even if it's a thousand years from now when they think they're strong enough to show themselves and for some reason they get into a fight, guess who's still going to be around to give them some help and all the more powerful for the time that's passed. It's going to be like the drow all over again!" Serhis suddenly understood that as well. Barring anything that would harm Iskdiwercaesin, if the kobolds here did reveal themselves in the future, the wyrmling would be a fully grown dragon by that time.

"I'm not sure who these drow you're speaking of, but you're right about us wanting an your strength in any conflict we face."

"The other two I was fine with doing, but having that geas and that promise?! I'm not doing it, it'll be like I'd be your personal attack dragon for the rest of my life!" The Elders tensed up as Iskdiwercaesin took a step forward, claw raised accusingly at them. There was movement by the corners of Serhis' vision, whatever guards that were hidden in the chamber were moving. Though he didn't see anyone, he was sure there was movement. It was likely these concealed guards were invisible.

"No! All of you, stand down," Karui tried to calm both parties. "Binding you with that promise and a geas would essentially make you a slave. I don't wish to do that. This promise is just that, a promise. We ask that you aid our us in our times of need, but we won't bind you to us. No geas to compel you. You would be our allies and we will treat you as equals to share in our fortunes. Would that be enough for you?"

Iskdiwercaesin considered making the promise. If this city had stayed hidden for so long, but still had people able to use strong enchantments like a geas on the six of them, as well as memory alteration, whatever they had left to spare might be just as strong. "... I suppose so if there's no geas. Just don't go making enemies for me to fight."

"About these promises, does that mean you will allow us to keep our original memories?" Serhis asked with anticipation.

"Yes," Cahji answered to his great relief. Two of the other Elders did not look pleased with the compromise. It was clear they were the ones that were outvoted. "With that, this session is concluded."

"Then let's get this over with now. Go ahead, latch my soul to this geas you've got ready and after that you get to peek into my head again to get rid of the stuff you put in there. Preferably before I come to my senses about how stupid this promise is. I also want the stuff we brought here back," Iskdiwercaesin said to Berguio.

"What? I'm no archmage. You'll have to follow me to a ritual room first, then I can use the scrolls of geas we had in storage," Berguio said.

"Ritual room? You have a place dedicated to the altercation of memories?" Xet was shocked.

"An unfortunate part of our history. And a necessary one," Cahji said. "It was made for the few times that anyone would venture out into the world. Its creator was the same archmage that made the guiding path, the mystical alarms and defenses surrounding our city, and who left a trove of enchanted items and scrolls for the generations after him. He was convinced that after his death, he would still need to provide some form of protection for our people. Go, the ritual should be finished quickly, but if you're still interested in our history, visit me afterwards when your minds are finally your own again," she spoke to them all, but mostly to Baous.

They were led by Berguio out the doors of the chambers and though one of the passage of stairs that led to the lower levels of the building. "I hope this isn't all some form of ruse for us to willing be put into the ritual, then destroying all our memories so that you can kill us while in a vegetative state," Rhasalis voiced an uncomfortable thought.

"An interesting theory, but when the Council votes, it's with authority and truth," Berguio said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, pushing back a large ornate granite door, sigils of an arcane nature etched into the stone, a chamber made of white stone with lines and symbols carved into the floors and walls, almost imperceptible due to the blank color. "Step inside and I can begin the process of removing what modifications we've done."

As the group entered the chamber with some uncertainty, Serhis stopped before he went inside. "About the ones that are to be removed, will it be a total removal?"

"Everything to the point you realized they were false. Why, was there some you wanted to keep?" Berguio wasn't in the mood about changing anything to suit them.

"Yes. I still want to keep the memories of when we were here and if you did that, I'd forget about the friends I made during that time. I think the others would want that too," Serhis looked into the chamber, the rest of the group nodding in agreement. He had to arrange how this was going to work now, otherwise they would forget the important things they found and the times they shared with the kobold kids. That friendship might have been made on a basis of a fake memory, but what had grown since then wasn't false.

"I suppose that's doable. What I can't do is actually find specific memories to pick and choose, at least not without considerable time that I'd rather not spend," Berguio said. Serhis wondered which option he had voted for. "Instead of when you found your actual memories, then to the point where you regained consciousness after we modified them. Get inside and try to go to sleep. Trying to modify memories on awake mind tends to work badly if I'm trying to keep you sane."

Nodding, Serhis stepped into the sterile white chamber, the nearly invisible grooves could be felt underneath his clawed feet as he joined the others, as the gray granite doors sealed shut behind them. All they had left to do was sleep.

"They could have given us a few bedrolls or a pillow," Xet laid down on the floor. "If you can't nod off, I could use a sleep spell. Never had to do it on myself before."

"No need. Beside, it wouldn't work no me or Iskdiwercaesin," Serhis said.

"We all want to do this, right? We all want the memories that never happened gone?" Xet asked. Everyone else nodded. As nice and idyllic as they were, they conflicted with what was already there. Two parallel memories that fought to exist. For their own peace of mind, they had to be rid of a false peace.

Settling down next to the others, the stone floor felt cool against his scales and as he closed his eyes, he tried his best to settle a restless mind. Between the uncomfortable and cold floor and the unsettling reality that he was about to surrender even a part of himself to this, Serhis found the sleep he needed as the warmth of the others surrounding him soothed his mind.

Out of his dreams that were nothing, he would make something for himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cold. The first thing he felt was the cold, then the aches and pains of having slept on a hard surface. Pushing himself off the ground, Serhis found himself in one of the side chambers of the Elder Council. He remembered... what he thought he should remember. His life in Lehaskeral, the misadventures he had with Xet and Rhasalis, his journeys with Helena, his meeting with Baous, the ritual with Iskdiwercaesin, and that he had forgotten... something he wanted forgotten. As he organized his thoughts, he realized he was alone in the room.

"Baous? Xet? Rhasalis? Iskdiwercaesin?" Serhis raised his voice. He was alone in this room.

"Serhis?" "Wha- Where are you?" "I'm here." "Ugh, I'm up." The chorus of answers was the sound of relief. Opening the door to his room, Serhis poked his head out into the corridor to see four other doors open, each of the others also looking out.

"Looks like we're all here, we're all ourselves, and we're not dead. That's something," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"Seems like the Elders were as good as their word. I recall the discussion in their chambers and we were to forget the memories they put in us. Of course, we only remember we had fake memories. Anyone still think they were still from here?" Rhasalis asked.

"Nope. Hatched in Lehaskeral with you and Serhis and only a faint impression of what I think might have been the false ones," Xet started to smile, but that good mood faltered. "Unless that's what they want us to think. How do we know that's real? What if they put something else in to make us think it's real?" A sense of unease spread throughout all of them as his words sunk in. "Nah! Just joking with you. We'd know if something didn't fit after a while and they probably wouldn't let me have that doubt. I read something similar from one of the stories I found."

"Don't do that!" Serhis scolded Xet, but was relieved that his personality hadn't changed.

"Hey, it was just a joke. Unless, they really did do something and they only made me think it wasn't possible," he said with a serious tone.

Rhasalis strode across the hall to deliver a swift *bap* to the back of her hatchmate's head. "Knock it off!"

"Ow! Sorry, sorry. Trying to make fun of a serious situation," he rubbed the back of his head for the dramatic effect.

"I see you're awake, and even better, in good spirits." Cahji came towards them from down the hall having heard the sound of their voices.

"Hello Elder Cahji," Serhis said cordially to her. "I didn't have a chance to say it earlier, but thank you for your efforts in helping us keep our memories. Or at least the actual ones."

"No need to thank me. By rights, you shouldn't have been put into that position at all," she replied.

"Uhm, Aunt Cahji? What happens now?" Baous asked.

"We still have the whole geas thing to go through," Iskdiwercaesin sounded irritated, though Serhis shared that irritation. Geas weren't to be used lightly and were always serious.

"The geases were placed on you while you were asleep. Again, you shouldn't have been subjected to that, but I had to make a compromise. It was either that, or you would have lost a real memory if I couldn't convince another of the Elders."

"Humph. They should have at least waited until we were conscious when they did that," Iskdiwercaesin said.

"Now that you're awake and the geas placed, I am here to tell you that you are free to leave the city if you wish. Your wagon is loaded with all your original supplies. I wouldn't fault you for wanting to leave as soon as you could," she said with some guilt.

Baous shook his head. "I don't want to leave yet. There's a reason I came here. I still want to meet everyone else in your family and now you don't have to act like I was already here. Uh, that is if the others don't mind stay a while."

"I'm okay with staying for a while," Serhis said, the others more or less echoing his statement, then he realized he was still speaking the canine kobold's language. "Did you leave us the ability to speak in your tongue?" he asked Cahji.

"We did. Otherwise, speaking to you after you woke up would have been difficult. If you wish to stay a while, you can stay at my home, since the shelter we provided you earlier is still in disrepair. Your wagon and things are just outside."

"Enjoy your family reunion. As for me, I'm going to Xet's pile of books and seeing what I can find that'll stop anyone from twisting up my head again. First that ritual, then that demonic dealing bard, now this plus a geas. Can't a dragon keep his thoughts for himself?!" Iskdiwercaesin sulked as he went out the building, still rambling on to himself. Serhis let him vent, sympathetic to his complaints and sharing just as many of those concerns.

"I think I'll go help him look," Xet followed after Iskdiwercaesin, not wanting to look at Cahji. That might have been due to resentment, fear, or something else, but it was clear he wanted to avoid her and the other Elders.

"I'm going to salvage what I can from that ruined shelter," Rhasalis also left the corridor, her body language tense and guarded.

Cahji watched as they left, leaving her with Baous and Serhis. She looked at the small reptile with sad eyes. "You won't have to make any excuses for me. If you want to leave from my presence, go ahead. Or are you staying to have some strong words with me?"

"I think we said enough in the council chambers, but I have to say what I can now, without that false life affecting me. What you did to us was wrong, you shouldn't have altered our memories so," Serhis paused, seeing how Cahji closed her eyes as she braced for a tirade. "However. You did what you thought best at the time. You didn't know who we were, what type of person Baous had become, or what we were capable of. I imagine the traps we laid out on the night you captured us didn't give you a good impression either," he recalled the camp raid clearly now. The hooded kobolds, though now he knew they were called Fangs, tripped the alarms and some fell prey to the immobilizing snares, but there were too many. The Fangs had beaten them into an unconscious state and by the time they woke up, it was though a mind clouded by implanted memories. "You also didn't want to kill us, though for less than altruistic motives. I'd imagine if you tried to enter one of our cities, you'd receive just as warm a welcome. My people are also suspicious of outsiders. There are cruel and hostile people out in the world that would have no qualms about attacking you either. Considering everything that I can, I don't hate you for what you've done, but I don't see you as a friend either."

Baous had been looking between Serhis and Cahji with a worried expression which only now slowly abated. Cahji's own expression softened considerably. "Was that all you wanted to say?" she asked.

"Those Fangs could have been a great deal more gentle about capturing us," Serhis figured that she could withstand at least one complaint for all the trouble they were put through.

"I don't think you'll get an apology out of them. The Fangs haven't seen proper combat before and wouldn't take any chances."

"Who are the Fangs? Some sort of elite guard?" Baous' curiosity insisted that he ask.

"They are our empire's army. Or more accurately, mostly the descendants of our former empire's army. It's made of volunteers now and the most they do is a small training regiment every day, but aside from that, the only purpose they serve is for emergencies and as a reminder of our former glories. That's unimportant now, I don't think you're interested in a history lesson yet," Cahji said.

"I'd still like to hear about it. After I see your family I mean. If they're not busy right now" Baous said.

"They're your family too Baous," Cahji reminded him with a light pat on the head. "I'll tell you everything you want to know. No more secrets, no more lies. If you also feel the same way as your friend about what we did, then I hope this will make up for it, even in a small way."

"It will," Baous said, the tension leaving him now that everything had been said and done. He had mixed feelings about the ordeal, yet he felt there was a way to fix things.

"Baous, take as long as you need. I can wait. And Elder Cahji, I'll make sure to take care of him when he does leave. I already made that promise to another. Nevertheless, I will make it to you as well," Serhis said.

"I don't doubt it," Cahji said as Serhis left them again, this time to acquaint themselves to a family member that had been missing for so long. Serhis could hear them behind him as they also went to leave. "I was afraid I had offended all of you friends. Do you think the others might also give me another chance?"

"I don't know. I hope they do. It might not happen, but I still hope so," Baous replied thoughtfully.

Leaving the now empty Elder's Council, they went into the city of the forgotten.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three days passed as they arranged to leave. The Elders made a public announcement that they had restored the memories of the outsiders and they were not to be considered hostile. The kobolds took it in stride, though many still looked on whenever any of the group passed by now that they could openly express their wary opinions and cautious glances rather than feigning disinterest.

Baous spent all the time he could with his new-found family. He wasn't surprised when everyone aside from Cahji also treated him with the same wariness as those on the street, he was from the world beyond their walls when everything they knew out there was regarded as a danger. What did shock him was how quickly they comforted him when he told them his story and how the sympathetic faces were genuinely moved. It would be three days he would try to connect to a family he never knew he had, all the while trying to explain the strange customs he himself had taken on while in the care of the Winterstones. A grandfather and grandmother from his mother's side that were well versed in the arts of combat, both of them Fangs and telling a shocked Baous it was his mother that had been trained as one too. A cousin that was insistent on making him show her all the trinkets he had from the outside. An uncle from his father's side that wanted nothing to do with him. A great-grandfather also from his father's side whose old hands still shaped clay with the skill of a master, his failing eyesight preventing him from seeing a great-grandson he hadn't laid eyes on for so long, but still watered when his ears heard a voice so much like his grandson's as he reached forward with trembling hands to touch Baous' face. It would never be enough time to take what he wanted, but he had enough for what he needed.

Serhis didn't take long before telling Gaupa and the others at their insistence what he remembered now that they didn't have to pretend that he wasn't from outside. They were slightly nervous when he approached, unsure if the unlocked memories meant that he would be a different person, but barely half a minute later, they knew he was almost the same. It was almost like their first day together again, questions abounded about where he had come from, what species he had met, and the lands he had been to. Unlike before, they didn't have to worry that these memories would be stolen away, allowing for him to take his time. Serhis answered with tales, awing them with descriptions of the underground city Lehaskeral, telling of the same wonder he had felt when he first entered a surface city teeming with numerous races, and the sights of an ocean of water, the clear skies over a sunlit plain, and sites of uncontrolled magic.

Serhis finished recounting the Saletvarin Library as Gaupa voiced her thoughts. "You're much more interesting now. I don't see why those Elders took away your memories only to give them back. It must have been confusing."

"That it was," Serhis agreed emphatically.

"Are you sure you have to leave today? Can't you stay longer?" Haut asked.

"We could, but Baous said we should leave now. I think he also wants to stay longer. It'd be very tempting to stay here for weeks, not having to worry about anything going on outside, but I also think he doesn't want to get so attached that he doesn't want to go anymore." Serhis wasn't absolutely sure that was Baous' motivation for taking off now, but it was the only one he could think of.

"What about you? Don't you want to stay longer? Can't you ask him to stay for maybe a day or two more? You haven't told us everything yet," Auin asked.

"I think he would listen if I asked. However, my hatchmates don't seem to want to remain here longer than we have to and I definitely know Iskdiwercaesin wants to move on. We're all a bit nervous after what happened," Serhis admitted.

"Does that mean you won't see us again? Do you really want to get away from us as soon as you can?" Uhap asked. He was somber today.

"No, no, it's not that. I don't blame any of you for what happened or anything like that. It's that there's others out there we have to meet, other friends we want to see again," Serhis said. One of the first things he did when he left the Elder Council was to send a message to the Winterstones. They were beginning to get worried when the weekly messages stopped for two weeks. Serhis had a difficult time explaining in a certain detail what happened while at the same time trying to remain vague to satisfy the conditions of the geas. When the return message was sent, the Winterstones seemed both relieved and alarmed at what had happened, but mostly happiness that Baous had found what he had been seeking. "I'm sure Baous would want to come back eventually. He didn't spend all this time looking for this place only to never want to come back now that he's found it."

"Well then, good luck wherever you're going. You better make sure you tell us everything when you come back as well, I don't want to miss a thing! You're the most exciting thing to happen to us ever since we found our hideout," Gaupa said.

"Too bad we can't go and see new places for ourselves. At least, without having our own memories turned around so that we'd only barely remember home. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers," Uhap's brows furrowed as he thought about needing to go through a ritual himself.

"I'm sure that Baous would make a drawing of those places. That way when he comes back, he can show you. Maybe if Xet learned a few illusion spells, he could make pictures out of magic that would show you exactly how they looked like," Serhis said. Xet might not learn any, but a scroll or two would do the trick.

"Okay then. When you do get back, we'll have presents for you for showing us what you found. We'll make good use of what you taught us," Gaupa grinned.

"Not anything dangerous I hope," Serhis said half jokingly. The other half was completely serious. One of the things they learned during the reptilian kobolds memory addled state was how to make dither bombs. It wasn't on purpose, none of the hatchmates would be so reckless as to teach the children that, but they had picked up the recipe and technique when Xet wrote it down and concocted one while he was trying to figure out where he himself learned it from.

"Don't worry, we'll be extra careful," Auin said. Serhis was about to say that wasn't what he meant, but he saw Rhasalis coming up the stairs of the hideout to meet them.

"It's time for us to go," she said to Serhis. "We're all packed."

Serhis stood up from his chair as they all went down from the hideout, the children wanting to say their goodbyes at the gate. Walking through the city of stone and leaves, he thought about the marvelous things in this place that he had taken for granted not too long before. It was a place that held thousands of people, yet was self-contained and sustainable, hidden from the world. He wanted to know how this was achieved without having to burrow beneath the earth and the history of this place and resolved to ask Baous if Cahji had told him it since he didn't have time to ask the others behind him. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he didn't know the name of this place. Even while under the effects of the memory change, he didn't know the name.

Crossing over the last bridge that led to the gates, he saw Baous readying the wagon and tending to the horses while Iskdiwercaesin sat in the back, taking inventory of their supplies with Xet's assistance. Having checked the map to see what terrain ahead they needed to cross, they weren't going to be so unprepared like last time. Cahji was there was well, speaking a last few words before her nephew left.

"Do we have everything we need?" Serhis asked as he reached the rear of the wagon.

"Yep, that and a lot more," Xet jerked a thumb at Iskdiwercaesin, who was busy separating piles of coins, jewels of varying quality, silverware, and a few magical items.

"I don't think those are ours. Where did this come from?"

"A parting gift from Cahji as an apology. Well, from some of the other Elders too, but mostly from her," Iskdiwercaesin answered, trying in vain to appraise the value of an uncut ruby. "If she thinks this'll be enough for all that trouble we went through, she's wrong. But it's a start," he shrugged as he dropped the gem into a bag.

"A start, hmm? I suppose that'll have to do for now. What would I have to do to make things right between us and the other Elders?" Cahji approached them with Baous next to her.

"Getting rid of the geas would be nice, but since that's not happening, you'll have to think of something much better. You wouldn't happen to have a Ring of Three Wishes or a Staff of the Magi you could give? That'd go a long way in winning my forgiveness."

"A long way? Hah! If you'd need such powerful artifacts to forgive us, I wonder how much would be needed to make us friends," Cahji said ruefully. "We gave what we could spare. We have no need for riches we can't spend and magic items that have no use for us. Perhaps by giving them to you, they'd be put to better use. These are only things that have some utility and what I want to give should have more meaning," she turned to Baous.

"You've already given us a lot. You don't have to give anything else," Baous said. Iskdiwercaesin clearly looked like he was of a different opinion.

"I think it's more of something you need," Cahji gestured for Baous to look into the wagon. His war hammer was sitting to one side, undamaged, but next to it was the shield that Serhis had given him. It was marked with the symbol of the Fangs.

"What? Why is that on there?" Baous picked up the shield and looked it over for any other changes.

"It's a practical gift as well as a sentimental one. I am also one of the Fangs as was your mother, with a bloodline stretching back to the Fall of Farukf where there was always at least one Fang a generation, I think it's time to give it to you. It isn't exactly an inherited title, but it's a tradition that I'm willing to keep alive. You will now be recognized as one of our elite warriors, or at least to any that recognize that mark. Seeing how well you fought during your sparring matches with the guards, some of them also Fangs, I think it's suitable. Should you find others of our kind beyond our walls, this will have meaning, but what I wanted to do was to give you something that could remind you that there is someone always willing to protect you as well as show that you are strong and fierce. The enchantment I had added to it also helps," she smiled.

Baous put his paws on the shield, feeling the shallow, smoothed cuts in the wood, "thank you. Is... is there anything I have to do now?"

"Fight to the best of your ability, protecting all you hold dear with all your strength. That is the mark of a true Fang," Cahji said.

"Wow, you're a Fang now," Uhap grinned. "I want to become a Fang too, but I also hear it's a boring thing. There's not much to do except practicing," he did a few drilled moves that Baous had showed him.

"While this is an important gift, there is a much more important one I need to give you," Cahji said to Baous. "All your life, you've gone by the family name of Winterstone. I don't want to take that away. It's a part of you, but you also have to know the name of your birth family as well. Maybe you'll keep one or the other. Perhaps both. You were born Baous Windbone. A name that means as strong as the earth, but free as the sky. Never let anything take that name from you, never again."

"Windbone," Baous whispered the word over and over to himself, burning it into his mind. "My mother and father were Deete and Aruh Windbone."

"That is the last thing I can give to you. If you want to leave, you can do so now," Cahji said as she took a step back from the wagon, her hand gesturing for the guards to open the gates, then looked at Serhis, Iskdiwercaesin, Rhasalis, and Xet. "I'm sorry for my actions and I have to apologize again since I have to ask one more thing from you. Please protect my nephew on his travels. I have no right to ask any more of you, but I can't stand the thought of losing someone precious to me again."

"I already made a promise to the Winterstones to do just that. You can be sure I'll do my best," Serhis answered, nodding at Baous.

"He's already risked his life to save our own as we've done for him. I suppose that'll be an easy enough promise to keep, right Xet?" Rhasalis said as Xet nodded his head in agreement.

"As long as he doesn't drag us into any more situations like before, sure," Iskdiwercaesin said, not looking at Cahji as he continued to gauge the value of his newly expanded hoard.

"Then that's all that I can ask. I suspect you'd have done so anyways even if I didn't, but I had to hear all of you say it," Cahji sighed.

"Aunt Cahji, I can also take care of myself. I'll be sure to come back to see you and the others someday, and this time I can stay longer. That's my promise to you," Baous made that promise as he stepped onto the wagon and grabbed hold of the reins.

"Also be sure to see us too!" Haut yelled out.

"Where are you going now?" Gaupa asked.

"We have to reach a city far to the east, to do something an Archon asked us to accomplish," Serhis answered.

"Is it the same one you met from before? The one with the really long name?" Auin asked, recalling the story he had told about how they had first met Iskdiwercaesin. It had taken Serhis a long while to explain the nature of an otherworldly being to those that were somehow unable to be contacted by one.

"It is. I'm not sure for what purpose, but I'm hoping she'll explain when we see her again," Serhis said. "All of you better be good. When I come back, I'll have gifts of my own."

"Sure, we'll be good," Gaupa smirked, obviously holding true to her own thoughts on what "good" meant. It involved a healthy amount of mischief.

"Gifts huh? What would you like me to give when I see you again?" Rhasalis asked them.

"TOYS!" the whole group yelled in one voice.

"I think I can do that," she said while gave a short laugh as she and the others boarded the wagon.

"Oh, one thing I wanted to ask before we left," Serhis turned around in his seat. "What is this city called? I think that memory removal might have taken it away. Was that on purpose?"

"No, not on purpose. It's simply that barely anyone here knows the name anymore," Cahji replied. "It's the only place we know of, the only place we live in and there is nowhere else to go. It is home."

"So you don't know?"

"I do. It's that I think barely anyone else does anymore. I even suspect a few of my fellow Elders don't," she chuckled with a mirthless laugh. "I'm not sure how it will help you, but this is the name of our home, our refuge. Keifcroutt."

If not for the understanding of the language they now had, they would have had to ask her to repeat it and spell it out. Even the children were interested in hearing the name. "I don't know when I'll be able to come back, but I will," Baous said.

"Good luck on your journey," Cahji bid them farewell as the small gang of kobolds on both sides waved to each other goodbye.

Flicking the reins, the horses pulled the wagon over the smooth stone, then onto the dirt road. "Was this how you thought it would be Baous?" Serhis asked him.

"I didn't expect the whole being captured and getting my memories mixed around, but after that... it was all that I could hope for. Some good, some bad, but mostly good," Baous acknowledged with a smile.

Shifting in his seat, Serhis looked back to see that the others had gotten comfortable and turned back around to see the passing forest.

Passing through the gates of a city that had almost forgotten its own name, they went through the deep forest, towards an open world that kept it own secrets and truths.

Edited December 1, 2010 with help of Storm Cultist