~~~~
The King's Head Tavern was a den of
adventurers, mercenaries and drifters. The ale was cheap, overnight rooms were
plentiful and there was always a story to be told. It catered to all comers, no
matter their race, status or creed. While this policy often leads to a diverse
set of faces every night. It also caused more than its fair share of friction.
~--~
"Anderson let it go!" The
cleric commanded his comrade.
"Never," the warrior
slammed his fist on the table and nearly spilled his drink. "You saw it
yourself Benedict, those damn kobolds started it!" Out of the corner of
his eye, he could spy the aforementioned lizards, as they made rude gestures
towards him from across the room.
"Let the lizards be," the
rogue said as he cleaned his dagger, "they ain't worth your
attention."
"Stay out of this
Richard," the warrior snapped.
"Richard has a point," the
wizard commented as he smoked from his pipe. "Besides if you give into
their taunts, it's their victory."
"Now listen here Bazil-"
Anderson reared up, but he quickly deflated as he considered the robed man's
words. "...I need another drink," the armored man stood up and walked
towards the bar.
"But you didn't even finish
your last one," Benedict pointed out.
"Don't bother," Bazil took
another puff from his pipe, "just let him cool off."
"Wise words wizard man,"
Richard agreed, "but I'll follow the lad, make sure he doesn't get any
ideas." With his ally's agreement, the rogue hopped up from his chair and
worked his way through the tavern up to the bar.
The tavern was abuzz with activity
this night. The town guards were engaged in a drinking contest with a band of
dwarves. A group of elvish bards had started an impromptu concert. There was
even a trio of paladins who had regaled a dozen other taverns goers with
stories of their exploits worthy of an epic poem.
After he passed by a duo of drunk
goblins Richard finally caught sight of Anderson. He was seated at the bar, in
the middle of a lengthy discussion with the barkeep. The rogue breathed a sigh
of relief and prepared to turn back until he caught a glimpse of some familiar
faces. At the end of the bar, about half a dozen seats from Anderson, a couple
of kobolds loitered near the bar. The same ones who had menaced the warrior
earlier that night.
'Well this can only end well,'
Richard thought, 'better distract Anderson before he notices them.' The rogue
moved forward to meet with his friend but got caught behind some larger tavern
goers. He lost sight of his friend just as the barkeep picked up Anderson's
tankard. However, Richard never lost sight of the kobolds or the barkeep. As
the barkeep filled up Anderson's tankard, one of the kobolds jumped up and
started to yammer into his face.
'Impatient little lizards,' the
rogue thought. It was then he caught a suspicious sight. While the barkeep was
distracted, the second kobold reached over the bar and dropped something in
Anderson's drink. 'Now what's this,' Richard pondered as he moved toward the
kobolds to investigate. As the barkeep pulled away, Richard walked right behind
the two lizardfolk.
"Now then lads what mischief
are you up to now?" The rogue questioned the pair.
"Wha?" The two lizards
screeched. Once they caught sight of the man behind them their pupils went
wide. They quickly retreated into the crowd with the aid of their tiny bodies.
Richard shook his head and turned to approach his friend.
"What do you want
Richard," the warrior mumbled as he swished his newly acquired drink
around.
"Ah Andy, mind if I take a
whiff of your drink?" The rogue asked firmly.
"Since when do you care for
this swill?" Anderson responded with a drunken hic.
"I don't but I have suspicions
of foul play," Richard admitted. The warrior looked at him quizzically but
relented to his friend's serious expression. "Just like I thought,"
the rogue took a quick whiff, "those lizards slipped a nasty thing in your
drink."
"They did what?" Anderson
sputtered.
"The kobolds just tried to drug
you," Richard replied simply.
"Those scaly-!" The
warrior swore as he jumped to his feet.
"Now, now Andy," the rogue
stopped his friend, "you're not of sound mind or body, let ol' Richey handle
this." Anderson grumbled but could offer no argument in his drunken state.
Richard set his friend back down in his chair and flipped around to deal with
the kobolds. Across the room in a small table in the corner where the kobolds.
Each of them seated on extra-high stools, normally reserved for children. The
rogue made beeline for the lizards.
"What you want!" One of
the kobolds spat in his face as he approached.
"Now lads I don't normally
confront people directly," Richard stated, "but you dumb lizards
crossed the line."
"What're you talkin'
about?" Another kobold snapped at him.
"I have no problem if you want
to make asses of yourselves trying to taunt people," the rogue declared.
"However, when you try to drug my friends, I take offense to that." The
kobolds were bewildered by his accusations, aside from a few who currently
shrunk in their seats. "But I'm a man of standards so I'll give you fair
warning. Get lost the lot of you, or I and my associates will give you the
beating of a lifetime."
"I ain't going around drugging
chumps," the biggest kobold denied the accusation. "If you're trying
to pick a fight-" However before the kobold could continue a few of his
friends slipped out from the table and ran out of the tavern.
"Cowards!" The large kobold screeched before he ran after his
buddies. The rest of the kobolds nervously followed under Richard's watchful
eye.
~--~
"What happened?" Bazil
asked as Richard lead the drunk Anderson back to the table.
"The kobolds decided taunting
Andy here wasn't enough," the rogue revealed. "So, they tried to drug
his drink. If I didn't catch them in the act we'd probably be chasing him
across town right now."
"Where are the kobolds?"
Benedict asked.
"Chasing each other across
town," Richard laughed, "apparently only a few were in on the
drugging part. I asked around, seems they made a bet over who could anger our
dear warrior first. Looks like drugs were against the rules."
"That's a relief," Bazil
chuckled, "you saved this night from going south real quick."
"Cheers to that," Richard
agreed.
~--~
The King's Head tavern catered to
all comers, no matter their race, status or creed. While this policy often leads
to a diverse set of faces every night. It also caused more than its fair share
of friction. These instances tend to resolve themselves. However, whether that
is a good or bad thing depends on which side of the altercation you were on.
~~~~
This may come off as surprising, but this story was inspired by a dream I had a few weeks ago. It was the same general idea, a bunch of kobolds try to drug a warrior to a win a bet and one of his friends confronts them over it. However, the best part of the dream, and the main reason I wrote this story, was because it ended with all the kobolds in high chairs. That image was to funny not to make a story about it. Literally, the first thing I did that morning was write the story idea down. So, yeah this whole story was written because of one funny image I had stuck in my head.Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy.
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