My name is Gritt the Kobold. I don’t remember much of my childhood, not that I really had one anyway. Most of my time was spent digging with the rest of the caverns. Unlike most races I don’t have a traditional mother and father, only the tribe. Everything I did was for the tribe. During the day we would dig and expand our territory, but at night some would go out and hunt. One of those hunters was my best friend Drokek, one of the few of our tribe to ride Dire Weasels. I was jealous of him, almost envied him, but he was the only one I had besides the tribe.

When he was out on hunts I would practice making jewelry with any of the gems or ores I would come across during my digs. I knew Drokek liked emeralds or any green gemstones, so any time I would find one I would save it for him or work it into a piece for his armor. In return he would bring back anything interesting he found while out. Once while out he found the remains of some adventures, and with their gear was a lute. He gave me that lute for my 7th birthday, when one is officially considered a man in our tribe. I love it and spent all my free time learning how to play it.

As I got older and my skills got better, one of the elders, Ghozzid, asked if I was interested in helping preserve our tribe’s legacy. He brought me to a cavern most in our tribe was forbidden from entering. There I was shocked to see our entire tribes’ history, painted along the walls and ceiling of a chamber that must have been at least 3 stories large. There he told me about the major events of our history going back hundreds of years and asked if I would like to join him and a few others with this project. Of course I agreed, and over the next few years I studied not only our history, but of others in the world. I was one of the few in my tribe that could read and write. I also started converting our history into songs and tales of past battles. I became somewhat of a celebrity in the tribe, but things are never meant to last.

A few days before my 13th birthday, Drokek invited me out on a hunt with him. I had never really left our cavern except to explore the forest at night, so I was really excited. We left just after sunset, and traveled through the woods, till we came upon a group of royal guards marching through the forest. Drokek and I stayed quiet and listened in the bush.  It seemed they were on a mission to hunt out some creature, but I couldn’t fully understand their accent. After they passed we made it to a nearby village of halflings. This was my first time meeting another race, so I didn’t know how to act, but Drokek told me to relax and took me to a building said to allow for musicians. Apparently, this was a common thing in the outer-world, and Drokek encouraged me to go up and play on stage. After some arguing he convinced me to give it a shot. I was a nervous wreck, but he told me to pretend I was singing to the tribe. Just relax, you can do this. And so, started to pluck, and as each note floated to my ear, my stress slowly melted away. Without even realizing I was singing the song I wrote about the great hero Vhotzenken, who hundreds of years ago saved our tribe from a vicious Ettercap that had borrowed into our cavern. I was completely lost in the moment, eyes closed as if it was just me and Drokek. Once the song was over I opened my eyes to a loud cheer from the crowd. Everyone loved the song, others were chanting for another. And so I played my lute and sang. All through the night we stayed at the building, singing and eating. It honestly was the best night of my life upto that point. Eventually the place was closing for the evening and we decided to head back home, though first we had to stop and hunt some bores for the tribe, as that is what we should have been doing all along.

As we were getting closer to home we could start to see some smoke off in the distance. It had to be coming from the tribe, so we raced home as fast his Dire Weasel would go. As we got closer we heard yelling and attacking. Drokek told me to hide while he went ahead to scout, but I couldn’t just leave him alone, so I followed after from behind. Unfortunately my worst fears came true. The Royal Guard we had passed earlier was tasked with “clearing out the menace in the forest”, and I guess that mean my tribe. I attempted to catch up with Drokek, but just as I was upon the entrance of our cavern, I could see him being attacked by the guards. I wanted to help, but he caught my gaze. I could tell from the look in his eyes I couldn’t help. I wanted to help. But he was surrounded by 6 knights. I was too fixated on Drokek to notice there were bodies scattered abound. All my brothers and sisters. I was frozen in fear and couldn’t help as I watched them murder my tribe. My home. The last thing I remember is the swing of one of their swords, and the thud of Drokek’s head crashing to the forest floor.

I ran. I didn’t know what else to do but run. My heart was racing, and most everything else is a blur, but I ended up lost in the forest for day. I lived there for a few months, mainly living off plants and small critters I could trap. That was one of the things I never really learned, as I spent too much time in the cavern archives. Drokek always did the hunting for me, but he wasn’t here anymore. Eventually I found my way back home, but it was no longer home. Remains of my brothers and sisters were cleaned by the critters of the forest. I explored the caves, seeing if I could find any signs of the tribe, but the more I looked the more hopeless it became. I was the last of my tribe. I spent the next few weeks exploring my abandoned home, collecting what I could of our history and any other useful tools. The last thing I did before leaving was find the neckless I had given Drokek. He loved it, and I took it to remember him by.

So with what could gather up, I packed a bag and left to explore. I knew I couldn’t stay here, but I also didn’t know where else to go. I ended up finding my way back to the village Drokek took me earlier. I lived there for a few years as staff at the tavern I played at. I got to listen to stories from traveling adventurers, and in turn learn about the world. I continued to work there for a few years, learning social interactions and general knowledge from the Tavern keep.

When I was 28 fate would introduce me to Marphira, a 160-year-old half-elf Sorcerer. She was beautiful for her age, but more importantly she was kind. Some adventures would ignore me or make rude remarks towards me. I didn’t know why at first, but I learned over the years that Kobolds were known for being evil tricksters around the world. But Marphira never treated me any differently from any other patron or staff. She was in town for the month learning about the forest and the energy within. After talking with her for a few days I offered to help her navigate the forest.

Through the month I learned so many different things about magic and sorcery from Marphira, while I explained things I had learned of the forest and of the history I had learned of the area. I learned from her that as a musician I could learn to turn my music into spells and attacks. She taught me about bards and explained to me what she knew of them. As her month was ending she offered if I would be willing to travel with her. She can see I am interested in the greater world and said I could be a huge help if I continued to learn skills as a bard.

So I did. We left in August, mainly traveling by foot. One thing I was not prepared for leaving the forest was how bright the sun was. I had spent most my time in the shade or in the dark, so I was not really aware of my sunlight sensitivity. The first time I got a sunburn I was really scared, as my scales felt like it is on fire while being poked by needles. Marphira though was as caring as ever. She helped me calm down and used some of her magic to cool my scales. The burns were bad enough that I had to shed earlier in the season than I would like, but we came to the solution for me to carry an umbrella with me to stay out of the sun. As much as she cared though, she would joke when my scales would burn as she loved the color they would turn, as if it was almost glowing.

We continued to travel over the next few years. When in the wild I would hunt and catch for food while she studied the wildlife and aura of the area. When we would pass through towns I would preform for money while she went to the local shops. Then in the evenings she would spend her time working on whatever spell or enchantment while I helped. On weekends we would relax, and she would spend some time teaching me magic. The first basic spell I learned was Create Bonfire. Even though it was just starting a small fire, I was overjoyed at what I had learned. On the rare occasion we would come into a town with a Bards guild, and Marphira would let me spend a few days just playing with others and learning my craft. Eventually we traveled back to Marphira home village, where I continued to live with her on the outskirts of town. I never fully understood what she was trying to achieve with her magic, but I do know she cared dearly about nature and the world.

Jumping ahead to when I was 47, Marphira was starting to get ill. I think she knew she was dying, so she spent her last few months with me, trying to teach me everything she knew. I was only really able to learn two spells before she passed in early November. Hundreds turned up to her Funeral. I guess I had not realized, but in our years of traveling she had made connections all across the province. After the funeral the court had her extended family visit and assess her house and stuff. Marphira only had told me about her brother, but I didn’t know she was the oldest of 13. Unfortunately, her family did not see me as the assistant I was and instead threw me out of their house. I had no claim to any of Marphira things, even though I had worked and lived with her for years. Defeated and with no where else to go, I started traveling the world. I wanted to understand Marphira, so I did like she did and went from town to town, trying to learn what I can about magic, music, and the nature of the world.

I am now in my late 70s, way older than most Kobolds, but I am no ordinary Kobold. I am Gritt, Last of my Tribe, and apprentice to Marphira the Sorcerer. I have just recently made it to this town after a weeks’ worth of traveling. After having played in the local market for some lunch money, I have made my way into a local tavern, ordered, and am now just relaxing in my chair, plucking away on my Lute.