The dark underground tunnel was once again illuminated by lamplight. The legendary horrors of the underworld did nothing to dampen the group's spirits; "youth is blissfully unaware of sorrow" was an apt description of Aelf and little Mishaer. The moment they stepped into the darkness, the elf girl had pulled a beautifully patterned ribbon from her little magic bag and tied it around her forehead. A halo of light immediately spilled from Aelf's brow, bathing everything within several dozen feet in a hazy, pale blue glow. The little elf thoroughly enjoyed everyone's astonishment, especially the envy and longing in the little girl's eyes. It made her heart feel as sweet as honey.
Aelf strutted around Mishaer, swaying her head as she deliberately showed off to the little girl. A series of mischievous "heh heh hehs" escaped her lips. You nasty little brat! Now you know what it's like! Heh heh heh! You're always picking on me, but today this elf finally got to hold her head high! Hahaha!
With tears welling in her eyes, the little girl looked at her greatest source of support, her voice trembling with grievance. "William—!" William watched the two childish little troublemakers and helplessly smacked his forehead. He bent down and picked up Mishaer, who looked like a wronged little bride, then pinched her cheek and comforted her. "Ha! Mishaer's helmet is the best! Nothing can compare to your treasure! Here! Have this!" William pulled out a Lanwo that he had already washed clean and held it out like he was soothing a child. The little girl immediately beamed and hugged the tasty fruit as she gnawed on it.
Singers, who was pushing the cart, warned the little elf gruffly, "You little weakling! You'd better take that thing off your head! Unless you want a javelin from the darkness to poke a hole in you!" Of course, the old dwarf was only picking a fight because he was bored. He didn't actually think this stretch of tunnel was dangerous. If anything, the ribbon's glow made it easier for him to see where he was going.
The dwarves and elves had always disliked each other. Dwarves thought elves too delicate and weak, while elves considered dwarves too stubborn and old-fashioned to appreciate beauty. The two races had even fought wars over it in the past, though nowadays the dwarves hated orcs and giants far more. But Phinia was always so quiet that old Singers could hardly find an excuse to needle her, so he could only turn his "gun" toward the little elf and "open fire."
Aelf gave the one-eyed dwarf a disdainful snort, made a face, and ran far away. Still, having grown up on frightening tales about the underworld, the little elf secretly removed the ribbon and wrapped it around Phinia's arm. Then she giggled and ran over to William. The little girl deliberately bit down on the Lanwo's flesh with a loud crunch, then occasionally spat out a little piece like a peel, as if taunting the little elf.
The little elf snorted too and turned her head away in disdain. Suddenly, a Lanwo tuber as translucent as white jade appeared before her. Aelf's face lit up, and she quickly accepted it, only to look up and see William's grinning face. She tried to put on a stern expression so she wouldn't look too happy and huffed, "Don't think you can win me over with a gift and make me forgive you! Hehe!" But she couldn't resist the delicious treat and broke into a smile. Elves especially loved such plump fruits, and ever since the little girl had tricked her out of all her purple berries on the road, Aelf had rarely gotten to eat any fruit. After all, it wasn't fruit season.
The two little troublemakers competed to see who could bite the Lanwo louder and spit farther. In the end, one of them spat a piece onto the other, and the "battle" began anew.
William led the way with the Bullseye Lantern, while Phinia carried the greataxe and guarded their flanks. Tired from walking, Mishaer climbed into the cart, and Aelf followed suit. Singers was so angry that half his beard stuck straight up. The three of them chattered and argued until the otherwise dreary journey seemed to fly by.
As they neared their destination, the faint sound of barking drifted toward them. William cautiously stopped and turned to the dwarf, who was busy arguing. "Singers! Quiet! Listen—what's that sound?" But once the dwarf fell silent, he heard nothing except his own wheezing breaths. Confused, he asked, "William! You must've heard wrong. I don't hear anything!" The little girl and the others also looked at William in surprise. No one else had hearing as sharp as his.
Although he hadn't heard anything, the dwarf knew how dangerous the underworld could be, so he stopped bickering with the two little troublemakers. The group continued forward in silence, with only the scrape of the cart's wheels and the sound of their footsteps breaking it.
The barking in William's ears, like a half-grown puppy yapping, grew closer and closer. At last, the dwarf heard the strange sounds in the darkness too. He suddenly roared, "Damn it! Kobolds! A pack of filthy vermin! They're stealing my ore! Old Singers is going to smash them! Damn it! Let go of me!" Furious, Singers grabbed his warhammer and tried to charge ahead, but William seized him by the collar and lifted him up. His short legs kicked and swung helplessly in the air.
"Quiet, old Singers! Don't be reckless! Tell me, what are 'Kobolds'?" William asked calmly, holding on to the struggling one-eyed dwarf. It was the first time he had heard the Common name for kobolds. Mishaer and the others on the cart burst into laughter. The little girl brandished her tiny fists and declared, "Mishaer can beat several kobolds all by herself!"
The kobolds had obviously noticed the commotion, and their chaotic barking began to draw closer. When the pack of strangers appeared before them, William's mouth fell open. He wordlessly released the excited dwarf, admitting that he had indeed made a bit of a fuss over nothing. With a clatter, Singers hit the ground, stood up, rubbed his sore backside, adjusted his helmet, and roared as he charged at the "menacing" monsters.
Kobolds were small, cunning, evil humanoids, and extremely cowardly by nature. Their scaly skin ranged from dark brown to black, and a pair of short, pale horns grew from the tops of their doglike heads. Their gleaming red eyes gave them infrared vision, allowing them to see up to sixty feet away and move freely in the dark. They also had thin, ratlike tails. Kobolds looked more like malformed, skinny lizards walking upright.
Some said kobolds had the blood of dragons in their veins, since they could speak Draconic, though their voices sounded like barking dogs. Kobold Sorcerers with awakened bloodline powers could even use simple Draconic magic. And if you removed a Wyrmling's wings, it looked almost exactly like a kobold. But the proud dragons firmly denied any blood relation to such weak creatures.
These omnivorous monsters had a tendency to torture other creatures and didn't particularly like eating intelligent beings. Still, to survive, they would drag their victims' corpses back to their lairs and devour them. They lived in dark, damp places—underground or in leafy forests—but as accomplished miners, they preferred to dwell in mines they had dug themselves.
Standing before the monsters, who were barely as tall as William's thighs, the burly dwarf charged into them like a tank rolling into a flock of sheep. The kobolds' tiny bone spears and short javelins couldn't do any damage to his armor, and despite their overwhelming numbers, Singers sent the monsters tumbling in every direction all by himself. The elf Aelf, who was used to "bullying the weak," eagerly took a bow and arrows from her little bag and joined in while they were down. The excited little girl also bounced around, eager to take on the kobolds bare-handed, but William had no desire to hurt the weak and quickly stopped the overheated little troublemaker. The kobolds' short spears might not trouble the thick-skinned dwarf, but little Mishaer's tender skin couldn't withstand them.
The little girl struggled in William's arms, especially when Aelf shot a kobold in the head and kept showing off to her. She struggled even harder. "Let me go, William! Let me go! Those are kobolds!"
People in Faerun reacted to kobolds the way we reacted to rats, though kobolds were much more dangerous. More importantly, killing them could earn you some decent loot, such as little trinkets they had stolen from other creatures or the various ores they had collected themselves. Of course, you'd have to search their lair thoroughly to find it.
Unable to resist Mishaer's enthusiasm, William could only cock the crossbow and hand it to her. Phinia, who was just as uninterested in bullying the weak, took the Bullseye Lantern from William and aimed the light ahead, while he helped the little girl load and cock the weapon.
Mishaer's first shot flew into the ceiling of the tunnel. Her second shot grazed the elf's hair before disappearing into the darkness. Aelf was furious, but also broke out in a cold sweat. The little elf angrily waved her fist at the little girl, then retreated, unwillingly. All right! Just as our "sharp-shooter" Mishaer eagerly prepared to fire her third arrow, the kobolds, already beaten half to death, scattered and fled into the darkness. Then a line of cold ice shot out of the blackness toward the little girl, but just before it hit her, it abruptly curved back.
The group exchanged bewildered looks. The dwarf, who had been about to pursue them, immediately retreated. Even Aelf, who was rarely serious, sobered up. She hesitated before saying, "Ray of Frost! There's a spellcaster up ahead!"
Singers sounded uncertain. "Could be a kobold Sorcerer! They can't use very powerful magic! Maybe I should go take a look up front!" But when he glanced at his heavy armor, the dwarf immediately changed his mind.
Mishaer, still oblivious to the danger, excitedly looked for something else to shoot. She wanted to approach the wounded kobolds lying on the ground, but William held her back. "Mishaer! Don't go wandering around! Phinia, keep an eye on her! I'll go take a look up ahead!" With that, he took the Bullseye Lantern in his left hand and prepared to scout ahead, his curved saber in his right. But when a pair of sickly green eyes appeared in the darkness before him, he stopped and shone the lantern toward them.
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