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Weeks later the three were plodding down a road towards the capital city of the realm, the Royal City. Fandain had proven less than helpful in Kreet's quest to find her home, but she had gained a writ of admission from the head priest to see the Bishop and - if successful - to access the Pelor Archives where she might find something.

The horse and ponies were nice, she had to admit as the night wore on, but they had proven to be expensive to keep and the gold that had once seemed so limitless was now clearly not going to last. She looked back at Kallid. As usual he was staring at her backside with his eyes still that pale blue. Hopelessly in love with her still. Well, there were worse things than to have your husband be in love with you.

And then there was Sigmundurr. He did try to put on a brave face, but it was clear that he was hurting. She'd even suggested he take some of their limited gold and spend it on a night on the town. The old Sig would have jumped at that, but now he was constantly pining for his lost love, and the vial that Elistraee had given her was running low. He was certainly friendly enough to the two kobolds, but she knew that he would have been long gone had it not been for the goddess' promise.

Something had to change, and soon. Not for the last time she considered why she was even chasing this dream of returning to a former life. What would she find if she ever got back anyway?

And, of course, there was the undeniable heaviness growing in her womb. A ticking time-bomb limiting her options. Already she had begun to imagine their faces, bright and scaled and looking up to her... needing her. They would need a home too. Kobold gestation wasn't a subject she had studied, but she knew it wasn't anywhere near as long as a human's. How long could she keep this up before she'd feel the need to nest? Or was she already feeling it?

But then they topped a ridge and looked down at a city. A real city. Sigmundurr stopped his horse and the two ponies pulled up beside him.

Below stretched the great central valley of the realm, and it looked as if it was filled with twinkling firelight from rim to rim. While it was still miles distant, the darkness that was surely the border wall was vast, ringing a glowing myriad of buildings the likes of which Kreet had never imagined. Surely even the Underdark paled in comparison to this unbelievably huge concentration of humans. Sigmundurr laughed at her expression, mirrored by Kallid. She shut her mouth with a pop.

"Ever been to a real city, Kreet?" Kallid asked while not taking his eyes off the spectacle below.

"No," she said honestly. "I've never even seen anything like that before!"

"Let's pitch camp for the night," Sigmundurr suggested. "I know it's early, but it's going to be a bitch to get you two into the city tomorrow anyway - let alone trying to do it at night. Kallid, you ready to try a day in full sunlight?"

The little kobold nodded. "I'll be okay, with my goggles on."

Kreet followed Sigmundurr off the road and into a copse of trees nearby. The night was clear and not overly cool, so they just laid out their bedrolls without a fire and hitched their mounts to a nearby tree.

"Sig," Kreet said once they'd settled down. "The gold is running low."

"Figured," he said while staring at the moon through the trees. "Never lasts. Doesn''t matter how much you have. Plus the inns are going to be more expensive in the city."

"I don't think we can afford to stay at an inn. At least not for very long. Sig... I think our journey ends here."

Sigmundurr turned to her at that, as did Kallid.

"I thought you wanted to find your home?" Kallid said, looking worried.

She smiled and reached out for his hand.

"I am home, Kally."

Sigmundurr turned away from the two, back to his contemplation of the moon overhead.

A few minutes later he spoke again while Kallid had moved his bedroll beside Kreet's.

"Is it the money?" Sig asked. "Because if so, in a place like the capitol we can find jobs or something. Save up to carry on further. Hell we could sell the horses for that matter."

"We'll need to anyway I think," Kreet replied, but Sigmundurr noticed her hand resting on her lower belly, with Kallid's on top and their fingers entwined.

"Oh. I get it. So, that's it? You're just going to settle down and raise a litter?"

"A clutch, Sig," Kallid spoke up defensively. "We call it a clutch."

"Or a family," Kreet added with a smile for Kallid. She looked into the eyes of her husband. "But yeah. I think that's it."

"In a human city? Kreet, I don't think you understand how people are going to treat you here. How humans in a city like this are going to think of you. Kreet, I don't know of a better way to put this. In a human city, you aren't going to be thought of like a lower class citizen. You're not even going to be considered a slave. Here, you are an actual monster. A thing to scare their children with. I'm not kidding Kreet, there will be people here that have never seen a kobold in their lives."

"So what do you advise?" Kreet said, anger flashing in her eyes. She knew it was the anger of frustration and fear, but she couldn't help it. "You want me to just ignore my children? Or maybe we should just find a nice cave somewhere and live there?"

Sigmundurr was taken aback. She had not shouted at him like this for a long time.

"Sig, I'm sorry. But I'm at my wit's end here. Our money is running out, I've got two eggs growing in me, so far I've found nothing about my old home at all, and even if I did I don't know why the hell I'm even trying to go back there. I've got to stop!"

"Okay, okay! Look, you know I'm with you till Elistraee returns. And who knows what may happen in the city. Don't worry about it Kreet. We'll find a place."

Kreet began to cry. It wasn't like her to cry and she hated herself for it. But she couldn't help it.

"Sorry guys, probably some motherhood emotional thing," she confessed, and felt Kallid's hands begin to stroke her back.

"Probably," Sigmundurr said. "Look, starting tomorrow I'll be the leader, okay? You two just follow me. Let me take care of things."

Kreet's eyes began to water more before she burst out in another flood of tears.

"And my boobs hurt!"

*************************

In the morning, Kallid donned his goggles, but Kreet insisted on not wearing her own. She no longer needed them even in full daylight.

"Trust me, Sig, I read about it. They work just like humans' do if we have enough food. We nurse after hatching if we can. I didn't when I was a kid. I was raised on mushroom soup and venison. But only because we were malnourished in the caves and our breasts don't grow there. But out here where food is easy to come by... yeah. Kobold milk is a thing."

"Okay, okay. Look, I've never met kobolds that live outside before okay? I just assumed... eggs, reptiles - no breasts."

"It's like Elistraee said," Kreet continued, "we were never meant to live underground. We were meant to live up here, with your kind. You get the day, we get the night. But somewhere all that went wrong."

"I get it," Sigmundurr relented as he put his gear back on his horse.

"As for you," Kreet said, turning back to where Kallid sat hunched over something.

"Me?" Kallid squeaked.

"Yes, you. Now look, I get it that they're fascinating to you. Kobold boobs aren't something you see every day. And yeah, I do like your attention to them. But please, stop grabbing them okay? It's like me grabbing your crotch all the time. Let me breathe a little!."

"I wasn't groping you," Kallid smiled curiously.

"No?"

"Well, maybe a little. But mostly I was measuring you."

"Measuring me? For what?"

Kallid stood and proudly held out what she immediately recognized.

"Oh Kallid! Is that what I think it is?!"

"A bra," he said, hopping over to her and handing it to her. "I've been working on it all morning. Dark elves wear them. And human women too - I saw some in the shop. They hold them still and keep them from bouncing."

"I know what a bra is, silly," Kreet complained, but took the garment and examined it closely.

"See, I sewed in a little bit of rope in that part to help it keep its shape. And this part is adjustable so you can raise or lower them just like the real thing. But it's Kreet-sized!"

Kreet smiled. No, she beamed and hugged Kallid tightly.

"Oh Kallid, this is just the best thing I've ever been given! Here, help me get it on."

She took her shirt off and pulled the contraption around herself, letting Kallid adjust it till it felt secure. She jumped up and down a little.

"So, how does it feel?" Kallid asked, apprehensively.

"Kally, it feels awesome. Almost like I don't have them, but for their weight. This should make riding on Brand a lot easier too."

Suddenly she remembered Sigmundurr. He was watching with interest.

"Hey! You didn't look did you?"

"What, and miss the rare sight of kobold boobs? Hell yes I did. You'd better keep those in mind too. They might be lizard boobs, but now that you're packing some melons you'd better stop flashing them."

"I do not flash my boobs!"

"Do too. I got a peek at them under your robe just yesterday."

"Well damn it, stop looking! Besides, now that I have a bra, I won't have to worry about it."

"Eh... some guys like seeing bras too."

"Some guys like anything," Kreet declared. "Okay, let's get going and let me test these things out!"

The morning was well underway when they arrived at the main eastern gate of the city and Kreet was truly happy again for the first time in a long time. The bra worked beautifully and Kallid promised to make her more. Kreet felt hope.

Until they arrived at the gate and dismounted to approach the city watch guards. As they neared it, two of the guards drew their swords and Sigmunder's hand reached alarmingly for his own.