Skix's Tale Chapter 1

Skix's Tale

Chapter 1

Skix was flying, the heat rising from the lower tunnels lifting her above the main hall. She wheeled and dove like a bat doing fancy loop de loops, banks, showing off! She was above everyone! She felt a deep joy as the others looked up and pointed with smiles or looks of awe...Then she felt something on her wings...scratches! She was confused at first till the scratches became harder, then something hit her shoulder! The actual bats were mad at her hundreds of them pelted and engulfing her, she tried to fend them off with her claws but it was to late she was falling! Falling towards the crowd that now was laughing and jeering. The stone floor of the cave rising up to meet her, she gasped...and woke with a start.

Her back was to the others who were in a big pile around a small rock hearth of softly glowing coals, again she felt the scratches and flinched as she was kicked in the back. Fucking Yip, the jerk was flailing in his sleep again. Her own low status meant that more times then not she was forced to huddle next to him for warmth. She hissed trying to cover her head and go back to sleep, he responded with a long drawn out squeak of a fart. Her eyes slowly opened, then began to tear up with the stink of burning bone and coal mingling with rancid belly gas that made her cringe. Sitting up she rubbed the sleep, among other things from her eyes and scowled at Yip the offender. She had a brief image of her smothering him but then sighed. If she killed him then she would probably not get enough warmth to stay alive. The others were still fast asleep in a pile of a dozen ruddy black, red, and brown bodies all huddled around in blissful rest. Except for Jinka who sneezed and scratched her nose, she had really sensitive smell. Skix liked the smaller bright red kobold who was even younger than she, barely having reached maturity. Someday she thought Jinka would have higher status...assuming she lived long enough to manage it. Skix was quite different then her, it was unlikely she would ever gain much if any status. She was the wrong color for one, all the others were reds and browns, and rarely yellow still more rare one would be born completely white with pink eyes instead of red. She however was dark blue, with some black scales mixed in. Her eyes were a green hazel. And despite being taller and bigger then most of the other females she had yet in nearly two years of maturity to lay a single fertile egg. Jinka in her first two seasons had already lain three.

Skix's dream of flying over the main hall was slowly fading away as she stood slowly stretching, extending her tail out and arms up with pops and cracks.
“Flying...yeah right, I'd settle for a warm spot in the middle of that pile on the floor.” she mumbled under her breath shuffling over to a niche carved in the limestone wall of the sleeping chamber where her few belongings lay. She gathered a bag made of woven strangle roots coarse as burlap with small gaps in it that went over her shoulder. A necklace of her own teeth and claws she had shed, a bracelet of carved bone and stone charms, and a small water flask made from the husk of a cave beetle. She wore no clothes. Maybe since she had gotten an early start there would be some food in the main commons. Things had been slim for her lately, there were shortages since the spiders had moved into some of the higher caves. She grabbed her spear before leaving, thinking of the reason for the food shortage had reminded her of the threat. Her weapon was a bone shafted short spear with a flint tip she had knapped herself.

Skix made her way from her far flung sleeping chamber through the warren that was her home. None of the chambers natural or otherwise had doors. The caves Skix lived in were a vast underworks of a long abandon gnomish settlement above that had been empty for so long only stories spoke of the hated inhabitants that once lived there. It was said that great kobold heroes of old had forced them out in a glorious route. Skix thought it was more likely they had mined out the caves they now lived in of most anything of value and simply moved on.

She perked up and quickened her step at the smell of food! Her claws clacking against stone reverberated off the cave walls as she jogged into the main chamber of Krazic Yur or the Red Warren in the common/trade tongue. It was fairly large, several intact buildings of gnomish make carved from stone had been refurbished and put to use by her own people. Even early as it was the buzz and hiss of hundreds of voices filled the space. She made her way past a group of guards preparing for a patrol. Hungry as she was she stopped to watch them pass wearing suits of scavenged leather and metal scrap armor. The captain had a chest plate of kobold make, iron mined here as well as a surface sword strapped across his back. She stopped and remembered to lower her head in a bow, turning it to the side demurely and casting her eyes to his feet then back up again trying to be coy. He still marching gave her the barest lift of his chin and a fleeting glance as they passed...she couldn't keep her tail from wagging happily staring after them long after they passed with a giant grin on her face.

She stood in line waiting to be given food, her mouth watered she could smell roasted uru beetle, one of her favorite foods, they resembled giant wood lice. She hoped she rated the status to get some. The line formed in front of large tent with a grilling fire and a huge cast iron pot over it, a small natural spring emptied into an enlarged basin nearby. Everywhere around the tent large groups of lizard people ate from chunks of slate or shale, the rare few with carved bone or stone bowls. Oddly today there were guards near the cooks.

Skix turned to the nearest to her in line. “Why are the guards here? Do they think someone is going to try to steal?” She looked confused. She had heard of times past when things had become bad for the city, even that the dead and sometimes not so dead were eaten. She had never seen anyone steal food before in her lifetime though.

“Nah, they are picking out a few to give extra to today...maybe they got some sort of work detail or something. I donno.” Shrugged the female ahead of her in line.

Skix smiled “Oh. Good! Maybe they will pick me!” she watched as the guard indicated to a male in line and he got a whole scoop of gray porridge and an entire steaming uru beetle to himself. Her stomach growled loudly. Several others in front of her including the female she spoke to were simply given a small bit of porridge or a section of uru.

When it was her turn she looked up to the guard and smiled a toothy grin of hope, she didn't mind hard work at all! He looked her up and down, not someone she knew he seemed to be looking over her odd color scales...her grin strained. “Shit.” she thought. But then he smiled back and nodded to the cook and she got a the same as the male before, she gasped and smiled genuinely now “Thank you!” she yipped gathering her prize offered steaming hot on a smooth bit of black shale. The guard gave a half grin and a snort of dismissal.

She moved to sit in a small group, oddly those that had to deal with light rations didn't seem all that envious of her. She put her snout over her dish and sniffed happily wanting to savor her meal. She used her claw tip to pry open the uru and slit it down its middle, exposing the white steaming flesh. She ate with her claws very slowly, then she placed bits of porridge in the carapace to munch. She was very much enjoying her meal until Yip plopped down right next to her.

“Heya Skix! You sure are up early, how come you do that. Its not gonna get you out of garbage duty ya know! Haw!” He noisily and messily tore into his own food, his uru crunching and squirting her in the cheek. Her thin lips twitched.

“I have no idea Yip. Really I don't.” She was about to say something more when she was joined by several others. Her friend from across the tunnel Neza another male from her dorm and Jinka, all of who she was happy to have give her a distraction from Yip...seriously, fuck Yip.

“Good morning Neza, Jinka!” She waved after licking her claws clean. She tilted her head to look at Neza's male Kavi sniffing. He smelled nice...good dark color. Little shorter then her but more filled out. She gave a little head tilted grin and a head bob to let him know she appreciated him. He showed little interest in return. “I hear there is going to be some sort of work detail this morning so I'm probably going to be on it. I hope its not shifting the refuse pile for the bug farmers again.”

“There was a cave in past the gate last night, everyone is talking about it. They think a bunch of passages above us collapsed in. I bet they have us shifting rock for a whole cycle.” Neza said as she sat next to Kavi who remained silent. It was clear to Skix she was a day or two from starting her own cycle from her body language, and Kavi's rapt interest

“But if they have us moving rock I bet we can help explore! I mean...i know the scouts and soldiers do most of that, but wouldn't it be fun to see something new!” remarked Jinka her high excitable voice making Skix smile. “Maybe they will get a big foraging group together, we could use some more food.”

“Me an Skix got extra today! I bet they are doin ok if we get extra!” piped in Yip as he messily crunched into his meal, going so far as to eat the shell and legs. Skix looked at her own plate blushing a bit and feeling a bit guilty.

“You are right Jinka, we do need more. As exciting as it would be to explore whatever the leaders have us doing will probably be for the best.” Replied Skix as she polished off the remainder of her meal, going so far as to lick the slate and pick every last little bit of meat from her shell with a leg of the beetle itself.

“Maybe there are gnomes who are coming back to take their city and we can kill them and take their stuff, or goblin traders! We haven't had any traders in a long time...some new stories might be nice. Maybe its even humans...evil armor wearing humans, anyone who killed them would be hero's!” Jinka grinned widely caught up in her safe fantasy of killing humans or meeting new outsiders to trade with...and truly that was one of the reasons Skix liked her so much, very few of the others ever thought beyond the walls of the city.

“Well. We need food and all that first. But yeah, it could be pretty exciting. Dangerous, but exciting!” Skix added, not willing to admit just how much she thought about the old city above them, or the strange humans and others that inhabited the sunlit world above. She had a hard enough time fitting in as it was without airing her views about the outside world.

“Mostly dangerous though. If all of us happened to meet a few gnomes, or even one armor coated human they would cut us all to bits. No thanks, I'll stick to shoveling shit onto the bug farm!” Yip, was never considered brave, even by kobold standards...his name was actually given to him from the sound he made as a frightened hatching, and it stuck.

For once Neza and Kavi nodded in agreement with Yip, Skix also had to toss her head in agreement. Yip's only saving grace was his sense of self preservation. Jinka gave a huff through her muzzle and a in-drawn hiss showing her disdain for him, earning a shrug as he shuffled away from the young hotheaded fiery red scale. Skix had to bite her thin upper lip and turn her head to not snuffle in laughter.

Things were picking up early this morning, the specialists began to gather and get to work. Already work foremen and crews were being corralled from the large pool of rabble that were the general labor force. The soldier from the food line was joined by many others, who pointed to many pulling them along to a spot not far from the eating place. Yip went totally pale when a heavy claw grasped his shoulder and tugged him toward the group. “Bring weapons, water! Over there...go now!” Yip was given a light shove when he stood dumbly for to long scrabbling to pick up his bone club.

The soldier sniffed Neza and Kavi, tossing his head to the side. “Rock piles need moved...go go!” he yapped to them, tilting his head at Jinka he gave a small grin, “Clean up, then help cook!”. The three of them started to snap to it, kobolds were efficient if anything.

“You, go with other! Weapon, water!” He pointed the butt of his spear at Skix making Jinka's head snap back up...Skix stood and nodded, picking up her spear and bag. She looked to the group gathering around Yip. They were the lowest of the low it looked like, malnourished oddballs like herself, or wounded. Of the only two in that group that looked like soldiers one looked to have had his left claw freshly amputated and the others eyes had milky white films in them. Yip clutched his club and cowered looking like he would fear piss any second.

She knew what this was...it was nice of them to give them a full meal first before sending off the extra mouths to their deaths. Unlike Yip though Skix had her pride. She shifted the rough sack on her shoulder and raised her chin a bit turning toward her young friend. She gave the young bold a quick hug and clasped claws with her, leaving her bracelet in her friends open claw. “Do me a small favor. Hold this for me till I come back, wouldn't want it to get lost. Yeah?”

Jinka shook a bit, her eyes a bit wet. They had often chatted about going on an adventure but neither of them were stupid. She nodded and gave a feeble “Ok, just till you come back.” Her tail tucked low between her legs.

Skix gave her one final squeeze and a pat on the back to get Jinka moving back toward the mess tent before striding off toward the armed group...if you could call it that. The only one with armor was the kobold with the milky eyes who had a cobbled together set of leather and metal scraps, his chest plate looked like the head of a much dented shovel. He also carried the lone iron weapon, a dagger from one of the bigger species that looked ancient. Everyone else was armed with whatever they could make themselves, bone clubs some with bladelets made from volcanic glass or flint or kobold teeth embedded into them. Some bone spears and some with nothing at all.

When the surrounding soldiers had finished rounding up kobolds there were about 60 in the group. The kobold in armor started walking to the gates with the one armed soldier next to him. There was no need for guards, everyone knew their place no fights or attempts to hide. “I am soldier Zin! There has been a collapse in the upper caves! You all have been recruited to scout possible new food sources or artifacts from above, We will not return until we have served the betterment of our city! Krazic Yur!” Skix and some of the others responded with Yipyak hoots and yaps. But most remained silent.

Zin at the head of the rabble whispered to the one armed kobold next to him, Every so often as if by accident he swayed his tail to contact the other soldier on the leg or his tail. “Salik, did they give us any at all that look like fighters? Failing that did they at least send us something we can work with?”

The thin damaged soldier looked behind them briefly and pretended to be counting them. “Not many, some healthy ones at least. One or two might be OK, brown male looks good for distractions. Theirs a little one hiding in the back might be good to squeeze into places...hmm a big weird female, wrong color eyes n' scales good looking spear could be good in a fight. Few others.” He kept his eye on them all but mostly the big odd colored female. Like the others of his kind he didn't care for extreme differences and mistrusted them. She walked with her head up, not cowering like some of the others, and the male flooding the group with fear scent was practically latched to her hip.

Zin nodded back in the direction of Salik, “Make sure you split up the rations between the ones that will last the longest. It won't be much.”

The ramshackle gates were made from rough stone blocks, scrap iron bars, and whatever else could be scrounged up. Serviceable but not pretty. They were hustled to an equipment station, Miners were being given picks and shovels soldiers were issued weapons and armor for patrols.... Skix's group however were only allowed to fill whatever they could with grayish water from a stone basin and a few of their number with serviceable bags were given dried rations, Skix among them. She quickly calculated that they had bare rations for about a dozen of them, and only for a few days. The city wasn't wasting much besides a few bugs and dried mushrooms on them.

They made their way toward the upper tunnels at a slow jog, Skix had rarely gone this way and she had to elbow Yip off of her he was cowering so close. The few torches and fires of the city died out and was replaced with the faint luminescent glow of bugs and fungi.

Salik turned to the group as they reached a large heavily armed and armored group guarding a seldom used passage up. “You, you, you...up front ahead of Zin!” he then pointed his club to Yip, Skix, and someone behind her. “You, You, You back there, up here.” He sniffed at Yip who whined pathetically. “You stay in front of Zin.” Then to Skix. “You next to me.” “and you little one!” a little black and red female nodded “Bina.” she responded. “Behind us. Stay in the middle of the group yes?” She looked surprised to have been noticed at all but nodded.

Zin had moved forward and was speaking to the well armed groups captain, it was brief and the group was allowed past. He spoke to Salik, just loud enough for those in front to hear. “They dealt with some spiders, but that's all so far. I smell more though, keep them close in.”

Skix overhearing hung close, she had only been in a few fights in her life...never an actual patrol, The worst she had ever dealt with were the cave scavengers that were attracted to the bug farm. The air coming from the upper caves smelled musty, dry, tinged with rot both old and new. It did not take long before they could see the cave collapse. A huge erratic block had crashed through poorly supported mine shafts then come to rest on a slope forming a ramp into the black above. The group paused to stare up before Zin urged them up the block and into the passages above.