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"..You're kidding, right?"

Vintio couldn't believe what he was hearing. He warily lowered his two shortswords, cautiously catching his breath. His black hair was slicked with sweat, and he took a moment to rub his tired eyes. Had he hit his head in the fight or something? Surely he must be imagining things.

"It's not a joke!" The kneeling lizard before him cried. She was a Kobold, one of various monstrous races which dotted the wild countryside. Cunning, tribalistic and untrusting of strangers, Kobolds could prove to be a dangerous encounter in the wrong conditions. But something was different about this one in particular. She herself looked normal enough- Her height put her not much taller than where his stomach was, and she had a simple mottled earth pattern of scales, with colors ranging from a darker brown to a desert tan. Her eyes were a fiery red, burning with subdued indignation, and atop her head were two short, spiky horns. But that was where the normalities ended with her. Whereas other Kobolds dressed tribally and carried savage weapons, this Kobold wore a fitted coarse metal breastplate accompanied by a chain shirt, and was armed with what for someone of her size would likely be a longsword, but to a human like Vintio only looked like a somewhat abnormally long arming sword. Her manner of speaking was different too- It wasn't the harsh broken Common he was used to when dealing with Kobolds, but rather it was as if she were almost fluent. But most strange of all, she was kneeling before him with a metal collar in her hands, looking expectantly at him. Vintio shook his head, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

"It's an honor code, you Commoner!" She continued angrily. "You own me now!"

Vintio narrowed his eyes, and slowly sheathed his twin swords. He didn't have time for this. "Er, sorry..?" He started. "I don't do the whole, ah, slavery thing. I should probaby get- Gah!" His voice was cut off when he tried to take a few tentative steps forward, only to nearly double over in sudden pain. "Fuck! You really did a number on me.."

"I know!" The Kobold beamed proudly before sulking a bit. "But, you won in the end.."

"So what?"

"So that means you own me, jackass!" She looked as though she might burst into tears. Did she expect this to go smoothly? "A pretty Kobold is offering herself to be your slave! Why won't you take her!?"

"Oh, geez, I dunno!" Vintio wheezed, finding a tree to lean against. He was in far too much hurt to be doing any serious moving anytime soon. "Maybe because you came out of nowhere and started beating the crap out of me, until I beat the crap out of you!"

He couldn't believe the audacity of this creature. He'd only been minding his own business out in the woods, a simple traveler making his way through the trails, only to be ambushed by this ferocious warrior. And now that he had successfully fought her off, she expected him to take her with him!

"I was only defending my territory! A-Although I suppose it really isn't mine anymore.." She finished with a mumble. "B-Besides! You'd have to be up to no good to be this out of the way anyways! I know you humans have an expansive road system!"

Vintio feigned offense at the accusation, but he knew it was true. Perhaps by 'simple traveler' he had really meant 'smuggler,' and by 'minding his own business' he had meant 'using the Backroads to transport contraband without getting caught'. He sighed. He was almost starting to be convinced by his own lies.

In reality, he had been given an illegal job and he was using the Backroads to accomplish it. To any smuggler, the Backroads were home. It didn't matter what the package was- It could be anything ranging from a secret letter to a valuable stolen crest. Even bounty hunters were too wary to chase smugglers back here, and the most daring used that to their absolute advantage. But, as had just been proven to him once again, Vintio was really only trading one danger for another out here.

He had been transporting a package of Gods-know-what (He never asked. They paid more this way) between major cities when this creature had come flying out from a bush towards him, bringing her sword down upon his head in a mighty cleave. Luckily he had dodged out of the way- He wasn't sure he could have survived a surprise hit like that. He drew his own shortswords and the pair proceeded to duke it out, engaging in a fierce battle wherein he had nearly fallen. He couldn't deny that she was strong, even if he did win in the end.

"Alright, fine! You've got me. I'm not exactly a model citizen. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go along with whatever wildland insanity this is! What the hell do you gain from wanting to be.. enslaved!?"

The Kobold tilted her head, looking as though she was having serious doubts about this human's intelligence. "Weren't you listening? It's an honor code. Y'know, like an oath?" She paused, gazing towards the tired smuggler for any sign of understanding. He had an eyebrow raised, but he nodded, letting her continue. "Well, my clan are all warriors! We're the Brownguards, and I'm Rirka Brownguard."

"..Vintio." The smuggler sighed. "Go on."

"We're all trained to fight from very early on, but there's only so much we can teach ourselves, right? So when we're defeated, it's in our honor code to submit to our defeater as a slave. From there, we can observe our Masters and learn just how they defeated us! And by the time something inevitably kills them, we'll have learned enough from our Masters to avenge them! And then we're free again!" She seemed oddly cheerful about the whole ordeal. "A-Actually, you'll be my first Master. I've been out by myself for about a year now without having lost.."

Vintio's face was blank. He'd never so much as even heard of any Kobolds that were anything even remotely like this- And he'd heard a lot of wild things in his line of work.

"So, what you're saying is, grouping with you is a deathwish?" He dismissively turned away from Rirka, looking in the other direction. "Yeah, no thanks. Consider yourself spared or something. I'm not really big on the idea of owning something sentient any-"

Click.

"What the-"

Quickly turning around, he could see that Rirka had taken advantage of his short monologue to put the collar on herself. On top of that, she had taken a chain and attached one end to her collar and the other end to his belt. She had even managed to cuff her hands behind her back. There was a sure smile on her snout.

"I- How the hell did you do that so fast?" Vintio would be lying if he didn't admit that he was impressed by her sleight of hand. Armored or not, these pesky Kobolds were nimble.

"I told you. We're trained for this!" There was a distinctly mischievous look in her red eyes.

Before the drained smuggler could protest any further, both of their attentions were drawn to a rustling in the flora behind Rirka. Vintio groaned with fatigue as he began to draw his blades, but he never got to use them. A virulent blue slime emerged from the bushes, and before Vintio could enage it, Rirka had already somehow taken her sword and cleaved the monster in half. One hand was still cuffed, but the other had slipped free at the first sign of danger. He couldn't help but let out a low whistle as she returned he sword to it's scabbard and put her hands back behind her. One heavy combat encounter he could deal with, but clearly she was better suited to prolonged bouts of combat.

"Quite the escape artist, aren't you?" He commented.

"Just a little emergency measure! Useful, right?"

"'Til you use it to kill me.. What the hell is the point of those cuffs anyways..?" Vintio muttered under his breath. But he could most definitely use an extra sword in these dangerous lands.

"Fine." He said after a moment, crossing his arms. "You.. Can come with me."

"Wha- Really!?" Rirka gasped. "Er, I mean- Thank you! You won't regret this, Master!"

"I sure hope I don't.." He grumbled. "C'mon. Let's keep moving."

...

Rirka glanced up at the human leading her through the woods. He was tall to her, but probably around average size for a human. His skin was fair, and his black hair was unkempt but at least short. His eyes were a silvery gray, accentuated by dark bags below them and a thin layer of facial hair to truly complete the tired look. He wore a mottled green cloak, which did an excellent job at both keeping him camouflaged in the woods and at concealing his armament. Underneath the cloak he wore rough leather armor and kept two shortswords sheathed. She admired his dedication to the guise; She had taken him for a complete pushover at first, only to now find herself at the collar end of his leash. Rirka shuddered at the sound of her chain clinking as they walked along, the feeling of her hands cuffed behind her back, the way her tight metal collar felt around her neck. Finally, she was a slave to a Master, and could grow stronger!

..Even if Vintio didn't really seem to want to own her. But for one reason or another, he had given in.

Perhaps it was out of necessity. Their ferocious battle had clearly taken it's toll on him, at least for a little while. He had been limping at first until he drank a mysterious purple concoction that he took from one of his many pouches. It wasn't like any healing potion she had seen before, but it seemed to restore him much like a healing potion would. He had offered her one, but she refused, opting instead for a more traditional healing salve that she had made in her time out in the Backroads.

Maybe he was just lonely. The Backroads were a rather dangerous place- Many would be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to come back here with them. Maybe Vintio wanted companionship, and an extra sword against the dangers.

Her deep thinking about her new owner was interrupted as she bumped into his legs. She hadn't noticed that he had stopped moving.

"Sorry, Master!" She apologized as she moved to be by his side.

"Stop moving." He commanded. She raised a brow at him, but obeyed, standing still. "..Do you feel that?"

Rirka focused for a moment, seeing if she couldn't pick up on what her Master was talking about. It didn't take long before she realized that he was talking about the slight vibrations in the ground.

"Oh, the vibrations?"

"Yeah. It's like.. Something big is walking around somewhere."

"That's because there is, dum- Er, Master!" She caught herself, but the slip still elicited a stern look from Vintio. "It's just the golems."

"..Just the golems?" Vintio sighed. "I'm somewhere in the Backroads almost every week. Why have I never felt this before?"

"Probably because they only started showing up in the last few days. They're big, they're scary, and nobody knows what they want, but they don't seem to leave their circular patrol paths."

The smuggler sulked. There was always something that dictated that a smuggling run would never be easy, but he had figured that he had already made it past that part by conquering this Kobold. Now he had to worry about giant golems patrolling the Backroads?

"Great. What if we need to get past them?"

"You just hide until they walk past. Easy enough for me, but you might have a little more trouble."

Vintio was deadpan as he continued walking, tugging the Kobold to come along with him. "Wow. That sure is a reassuring thought."

"Anytime, Sir!" Rirka had completely missed his sarcasm as she trailed along happily behind him.

Maybe he just needed a guide for these treacherous parts of the Backroads. First the slime, now the golems, Rirka couldn't help but imagine just what he'd do without her. Regardless, she was glad she could help her new owner!

...

Vintio still couldn't believe he had agreed to such a ridiculous arrangement. A slave? Just what in the Nine Hells was he thinking? It was bad enough that he was a smuggler- But now a slaver, too? Any guard who got his hands on him would execute him on the spot at this point.

But he just couldn't dash his curiosity. Just where the hell was this Kobold from? Why was she so different from the rest? He couldn't suffer not knowing the answers to these questions and more for any longer.

"Rirka."

"Sir!" She said, moving up to be at his side while they walked.

He stifled a laugh. He was still very much getting used to being referred to as 'Sir,' or 'Master'. Such titles were reserved for speaking to nobility, higher ups- Not some smuggler pond scum like him. Still, he had to admit it felt nice.

"You're unlike any Kobold I've ever met. None of them ever had proper armor, or a sword, or even proper Common. Hell, knowing the others, I'd have thought you took that armor off a corpse. But it fits you too well, there's no way. So where the hell did it all come from?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise before smiling. "You're sharper than I took you for, Master. I thought I might've been the first Kobold you'd ever come across."

Tch. Was that an insult? "No, I just had more important things on my mind than where the little lizard living in the woods got her toy armament from."

That seemed to put a dent in her ego. She looked up at him furiously before remembering her sworn place.

"Why, i-if I weren't your slave I'd.. Look, the Brownguard aren't your run of the mill Kobolds. You've noticed that by now. That's because a long time ago, some dwarves let us move into their city after our Dragoness got killed. It's underground, so we felt right at home, and actually got to learn a few things while we were down there too."

Rirka seemed to perk up again, pridefully pushing her chest out. It was quite a contrast to the collar and cuffs that made it clear that she was a slave.

"We swore that we'd become better than the rest of the 'bolds out there! So we took on the Brownguard Oath, and all Brownguards have to spend 5 years in the Backroads carrying it. T-There aren't really a lot of new Brownguards, though, so you won't find one too often. Guess you lucked out in finding me, huh Sir?"

"If you call this 'lucking out,' I don't even want to ask what bad luck means to you." He grumbled. What he was hearing was fantastical- Kobolds living in a city? Among Dwarves? But as he racked his brain, it was the only explanation he could come up with for her that made any sense at all.

"So.. Where is this city?"

"That's the thing.." She started carefully. "I can't tell you."

"What!?"

"It was part of the deal with the dwarves. We can't tell anyone where their city is."

Vintio's palm dragged down his face.

"So what you're saying is, you made all this up?"

"I'm not!" She cried. "The only way we're allowed to introduce someone new to town is if they can survive with a Brownguard slave for over a year-"

"This has to be the tallest tale I've ever heard." He interrupted.

"..And you have to be blindfolded for the trip. Oh, and that's all only if I decide you're even worthy enough to go in the first place."

"That just sounds like an incredibly convenient way to kill me after you're sick of being owned a year down the line."

"What don't you understand about honor codes? We have to uphold them no matter what! I thought you humans were civilized!" Rirka was beginning to grow frustrated.

"Some of us."

"..Do you mean to say you aren't?" This was a surprise to her. She thought all humans were at least versed in civilization.

"To an extent. What do you think I'm doing out here?"

Rirka narrowed his eyes at him. "Yeah. Just what are you doing all the way out here? Y-You must be a robber! Or a tomb raider, looking to steal your fortune! Or a-"

"Smuggler." He interrupted her again. "I take illegal stuff, and I bring it from Point A to Point B for money."

She blinked. "..Smuggler of what?"

Now it was Vintio's turn to be smug. "I can't tell you."

"That's mean, Sir!"

"I'm serious!" He laughed. "Part of the contract. I don't ask, they don't tell, and I get paid more for it."

Her anger faded. "I'm surprised criminals like you actually hold yourselves up to standards like that."

"Never heard of honor among thieves?"

"Never thought it was true."

"Well, it is. Although it's a lot simpler than whatever you've got going on."

Rirka pouted and resumed her place behind her Master. She gazed at him again. So, she was slave to a criminal now. She figured, but he definitely was not your average criminal. Otherwise, he'd have had no reservations about taking her on as his slave. She shook her head. She didn't understand humans at all; Not that she claimed to. But she understood her human even less.

...

The new unlikely duo didn't get to travel exceptionally far before the sun began to set. After a while they happened across a small clearing, where Vintio ordered they'd rest for the night. He took some things from his pack and started to set up a tent between two trees, with rope holding a canvas up and pegs keeping the canvas down in place. Rirka looked on with intrigue and then amusement as Vintio started to struggle because of the breeze, stifling laughter. The whole concept of a tent was alien to her, even if she was from a city. Out here, she was used to sleeping in caves or up amongst the tree branches.

"Alright, enough giggling! Get those cuffs off and help me!" He eventually barked.

"Heheh, yessir!" She replied, slipping out of the cuffs as though they were never on.

Together, with Rirka hammering the stakes in while Vintio held the canvas in place, they finished setting up the tent. Vintio threw his camoflauge cloak over the canvas and laid his bedroll out underneath the cover, and just in time. The sun had finally set, and nighttime was upon them.

He detached Rirka's chain from his belt and didn't bother clipping it to anything else. She stood outside the tent confused as he climbed in and disrobed before settling into the bedroll.

"G'night, Rirka." He said unceremoniously as he closed his eyes. It dawned on her that she had nowhere to sleep, but she did have one idea.

"Only one tent, huh? Guess I'll have to squeeze in with you then!"

The tired smuggler's eyes shot open, and he brought the bedroll's covers up to hide a blush. He could always say no, but he knew just as well as any other smuggler just how cold the floor of the Backroads could get. This might just be something else he'd have to get used to- His lifestyle was that of a loner until now. He'd never so much as slept in close proximity to someone, let alone in the same bedroll. He swallowed nervously as he could hear the clinking of metal in the dark amongst the cricket noises, likely the sounds of Rirka taking her armour off. Was she even wearing anything under that? His blush deepened, for he did not know.

"O-On one condition!" He stammered as he felt her climbing on top of him, looking to enter the bedroll.

"Oh?" She said, pausing.

"Keep those handcuffs on in here. I-I don't want anything weird happening overnight!"

He couldn't see her reaction in the dark, but the click of the handcuffs snapping shut around her wrists at least made it clear that she'd obeyed.

"How evil of you, Sir.." She teased as she climbed under the covers with him. "Keeping your slave in bondage even while she sleeps.."

"Shut it." He groaned. "I'd at least like the illusion of having you unable to kill me in my sleep. Even if it's such a thin veil as this."

"..You still don't trust me, do you? Even after I've been nothing but helpful?"

Vintio could note that there was definitely a level of sadness in her tone there. He felt a small pang of guilt. Damnit, it was hard to be distrustful of something so cute. But he didn't want her to know that.

"All things considered.. No, not really." He stated matter-of-factly through sheer force of will.

"Nobody ever does." She turned angrily away from him under the covers. "I tried to talk to the first few humans I met, y'know? But they'd met other Kobolds before. So they'd much rather try to kill me than talk to me. That's when I just started ambushing everyone.."

Fuck. That pang of guilt just grew a bit bigger.

"I.." He started, trying to think of something he could say to comfort her without giving himself away. "Look, you want me to trust you? Promise me something right now."

She responded with an uninterested "Hmm?".

"In a years time from now, when that stupid chain leash of yours is still clipped onto my belt. Promise me you'll take me to your city. I can't get it off my mind."

She fell silent with surprise. She turned back to face him, although he could not see her very well in the dark. "You'd really dedicate yourself to keeping a Brownguard for an entire year? Even in a world as dangerous as this?"

"Hell, I'll do it because we're in a world as dangerous as this. It sucks up here. You think I want to be marching through the Backroads every week all for a couple of coins? Whatever is happening in that hidden city of yours, I want to see it. It can't be much worse than the life I already know."

Rirka didn't respond with words. Instead, she suddenly hugged him tight, with his blush deepening even further as a result.

"Hey-!"

"I promise." She interrupted him. "If you meant any of what you said, and are willing to fight for it, then you're worthy. Please don't disappoint me, Sir."

"I.. I'll try not to." He sighed. Gods, was she warm against him.

The pair laid in silence for a few minutes, with the only audible sounds being their slow breathing and the chirping of the crickets outside.

"Kalheim." Rirka said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"That's the name of the city. Kalheim."

"Kalheim.." Vintio repeated. "Hmph. I look forward to making it there."

And with that, the two drifted off into sleep. A much-needed rest after a long day of traveling, only to resume tomorrow.

...

(Will continue later)