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The scent of chemicals and the bubbling of reagents told me exactly what kind of place the Stick of Champions took me this time. I found myself within a laboratory--the very heart of an alchemist. I was alone in the workshop for only a moment before a green figure, only slightly taller than me, stepped on up. His hands held onto his patched-up coat, and his eyes radiated vanity, only for his cackling grin to turn down into a frown which seemed to stretch down beneath his chin.

"Ah," the pointed-nosed alchemist said upon seeing me, "A kobold."

"A goblin," I returned his enthusiasm with an equal amount, clutching the Stick of Champions close to my chest. The truth of the matter is that I had never really run into a goblin personally, but the tales that were told of them among the Dragon's Heir Tribe made me quite wary of their tricky ways.

The goblin and I stood there a moment, taking in each other, searching for a weakness in social graces, no doubt. But the goblin was the first to extend a hand, causing his oversized jacket to slouch over his shoulder. "Dr. Jeked. Provider of miracle tonics and explorer of the frontiers of science! You are the Harbinger, no doubt."

I took his hand, offering him my name curtly.

"Well, Tik Tik, allow me to pack up my traveling experiments here, and we shall be ready in no time!"

"This take forever to clean!" I gasped.

Jeked just smirked at that and clapped his hands.

From the corners and crevices, goblins, no, goblin-like things, emerged. Many are half-formed, and others that were full were uglier than Jeked himself. But they all worked tirelessly without the need for communication. I watched with subtle horror at the oddly perfect, yet subtly sinister shapes before me, when another figure approached, much like Jeked himself, yet with a sultry, feminine form to her.

"Forgive my more analytical representation," the goblin woman said, grabbing a glass handed to her by a three-armed goblinoid. "He often puts business ahead of any sort of pleasure, save for his flair of the theatrics."

"And... you are...?"

She smirked and handed me the glass, grabbing one for her own. "Oh, why, I'm Jeked.

"But he..."

"Yes, he's Jeked. I'm Jeked."

The goblin-things stopped and turned in unison, facing me and speaking in unison. "We're all Jeked!"

The original Jeked stepped forward, carrying a vial in his hand. "These wondrous creations are my homunculi--new life, subservient to me, and part of my being at the same time.. They are created from my emissions and increase my productivity by bounds a simple wizard could never understand. If the gods think they are the only things that can create lifeforms that'll serve them, then they do not know anything about biology." He laughs a nasally, throaty laugh, while the female Jeked placed a hand upon my shoulder. "We're ready when you are, Tik Tik."

They might be, but am I ready to accept this new and strange reality of science? Only time may tell, but I raised the Stick, leaving that concern for another day.

An adventurer is always ready for the next challenge. That's why the Adventurer's Guild is so often bustling with so many faces of all skill levels. From the greatest of heroes to the most meager workers of pest control, there is never a shortage of those ready to answer the call for a quest or two.

So, I arrived at the adventurer's guild building, towing Jeked and his Jekeds along with me. Even with so many faces around the hall, I had no idea whom I would be meeting as the next champion for the Tournament of Pleasure.

Many heads turned their way over towards us. Adventurers, tall and small, sized us up, but returned back to their ale and their maps. None would pay us mind, even with our spectacular entrance.

I stepped forward, holding the Stick of Champions aloft. "Tik Tik look for Champion!" I shout. "Help this kobold find hero for Tournament of Pleasure!"

"Kobold?" yipped up a voice, small, quiet, yet filling the silent room. I turned around to see a creature with fluffy wheat-colored fur and big blue eyes, sitting at a table. He slipped from his booth, paws plopping onto the ground. He stood up tall, pressing a hand to his chest. "I'm a kobold. What are you?"

"A canine, eh?" Jeked said, stroking his chins. "Quite intriguing. I haven't seen one myself. But I have heard stories."

I narrowed my eyes and scurried up to this strange dog-like creature. Sniffing, I could tell something similar to kobolds with this one, but by his outward appearance. He wasn't anything like me. There's nothing draconic to him at all. "Just a doggie!" I said "Not kobold."

The self-proclaimed kobold stood up on his toes, looking straight into my eyes and puffing up his chest. "I don't know what you are, littledragon, but I am a proud kobold, strong and true. My skills are superb, and I welcome any challenge. Tell me about this tournament of yours "

With my hands on my hips, I tilted my head and asked. "I Tik Tik. Wizard, writer, Herald of Tournament of Pleasure?"

"Radasus Nailo," he responded. "I accept this tournament's challenge, and I shall win it all, for the honor and glory of all kobolds everywhere, fur or scaled!" With that last bit, he turned toward me, granting me a quick smirk.

Jeked snickered, his feminine homunculus stepping forward and fluttering her eyes. She laced her fingers together and stood on the toes of one foot, swiveling her ankle demurely. "You and I are going to face each other in a contest of skill. It'll be fun and sexy. Though, really, what can a kobold do to a superior species like me?"

Radasus and I growl at the same time. "Nothing inferior about kobolds!" we both shout, and then we look to each other, and I nod. "Well, if Rada is kobold, show Tik Tik kobold smart and skill."

Radasus pulled out his sword. "Alright, then. Let's go. I'll take you all on!"

I know well the bluster of a tiny kobold in the face of overwhelming odds. While Radasus approached the goblins, I couldn't help but wonder if he was this the brave hero he presented himself as. Or was this merely a facade?