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The Guilded Cage, Ch 6

Act Boldly... Act KOboldly

"Blackscale" had been one of the first recruits of Vox's inner circle when The Nibblers had just begun forming. They recognized his talents for moving about unseen and his expertise when it came to 'lorit xurwkir', the art of trap making. He took great pride in his talents and he was well regarded in the warrens. Thanks to his expertise and his ranking within the Nibblers he was sought out as a friend, mate, and expert; Blackscale was in high demand which was usually a good thing, but it also caused problems from time to time.

One drawback of being in such high demand was that his projects were often interrupted so, by necessity, he had to learn how to multitask and put plans on hold, only to be picked up again at a later point. That wasn't usually too difficult for him but the problems started to arise when he was training apprentices, and that was the issue that arose when he was tapped to join a few of his fellow Nibblers on a diplomatic outing to meet with a group known as 'The Assembly'.

Oh, Blackscale knew The Assembly well enough. Despite not taking an active interest in them he'd had a run-in or two with various cells around town... usually for the better. The issue he was facing involved a fairly new recruit name Welkin who was learning the way of Blackscale's best traps; if he couldn't devote the time to teach the red-scaled initiate then chances were that Welkin wouldn't be worthwhile to send out on his own.

Regardless, Nak-Nak, the Nibbler's chief speaker with outside groups had personally selected him to join the small group attending a gathering called by the Assembly for the purpose of confirming partnerships... or at least a non-aggression policy. Blackscale was keen-minded enough to be able to handle traps so it was an obvious assumption that he'd also be good conducting himself around unstable outsiders; in most cases it was a dangerous assumption to make but in Blackscale's case it was true: he was just as good at disarming uncomfortable situations as he was arming traps.

The two of them joined "Snick", a black-scaled Kobold who considered himself both a member of the Nibblers and the Assembly. Blackscale didn't know Snick very well but, like most members of the Nibblers, it was likely safe to say that he'd be loyal if there were ever a conflict between the Kobolds and other groups after all: the scaled always sided with the scaled. Knowing that, Blackscale wasn't as concerned as he could have been with only two Nibblers at his side-- that, and it was a diplomatic gathering and, if push came to shove, the three could beat a hasty retreat and rapidly outpace any pursuers in the tunnels.

The meeting, as it turned out, took place in what appeared to be the courtyard of an abandoned, subterranean temple to defunct god Holus. The meeting place was just fine as far as Blackscale was concerned since most of the soft skins usually selected some place out in the open with far too much light for his personal comfort-- or the comfort of most Kobolds for that matter. The gathering site, however, was lit with subdued, cooling balls of green and lavender light, casting enough visibility for even the soft skins to see and more than enough for Blackscale and his brethren.

Snick stepped away from them, moving about to speak with those who Blackscale presumed to be Assembly members. Nak-Nak took the time to point out individuals he recognized as well as some of those he didn't; not one to socialize much outside the Nibblers, Blackscale's knowledge of the people at the gathering was far less than his companion's. There were a few faces familiar to him however, including a fellow kobold who was not affiliated with the Nibblers but, for whatever reason, had chosen to align with the Assembly-- an oddity in Blackscale's mind, especially because his warrens-brother was a Nibbler.

Rak was his name, and he was a member of the city watch responsible for patrolling the Slums. Standing near Rak was a Hobgoblin who, strangely enough, was not a member of the War Boys; it seemed almost poetic that they were hanging out together. With them were an older Beast-Kin Yak and a pair of Coyote Beast-Kin; one of them held a little coyote puppy-- not the Beast-Kin kind-- one of the four legged ones that people wouldn't question if a Kobold were caught eating it.

With his thoughts on the War Boys, Blackscale was only somewhat surprised to see that they had a presence at the meeting as well. He didn't deal with the Hobgoblins with any regularity so he didn't recognize any of them, but could tell that one of the number was apparently someone of significance because his uniform looked different. The War Boys weren't the only other faction to attend, however.

Blackscale also recognized some members of the Gathering Shadows, with whom he's dealt before. He didn't interact with them on a regular basis, but some of their alchemists were the best resources for different kinds of oils and potions key to his trap-making. Among them were also rogues-- he recognized a half-elf known as 'The Mule', along with two Beast-Kins, a wolf and a rat, known as 'Mit' and 'Paw' respectively. The rogue's guild periodically tried to recruit Blackscale and, despite his heart being solidly connected to the Nibblers, he was on 'friendly enough' terms with some of their number.

A very recognizable voice laughed loudly, and further identified the speaker thanks to his unmistakable outlander drawl as he greeted one of his fellow Coyote Beast-Kin. "Well howdy there, darlin'! Glad t'see yer here too!"

The Nibblers knew him as "Slayer, Killer of Lawgivers", a ruthless marauder who, nevertheless, still somehow completely avoided the eye of Norr and, for as much as any of the Nibblers knew, managed to somehow camp out right in their midst. He was a dangerous Beast-Kin to be sure, and yet it gave Blackscale no small degree of comfort to see him present... not to mention the Militia of Holus who were gathered around in a circle near him.

The Militia weren't exactly allies to the Nibblers, but they leaned toward accepting. The two groups had an amicable relationship of difference, generally leaving one another alone but, every now and again, the Militia helped out one of the Kobolds in a superficial-but-appreciated way. All-in-all, Blackscale was pleased to see that they had been invited and accepted the invitation.

Before Blackscale could complete his visual assessment of all of the attendants the meeting began. The speaker who led the discussion was a well-dressed Human identifying himself as "Graves". He was older for one of the Elf's lackey race, probably well into middle age but he seemed to carry himself well enough, and had the cool, smooth movements of someone used to being listened to, which is what the gathering did. His voice was strong and he projected well, making it easy to hear him despite the size of the underground chamber.

He walked as he spoke, taking three steps in one direction before about-facing and taking six more, then turning and taking six more, repeating the slow, deliberate pacing while talking to everyone as a whole. What surprised Blackscale the most was how his eyes darted around the audience, speaking to nobody in particular but everyone at once; the Kobold even felt his heart skip a beat in surprise and glee when their eyes met. At first, Blackscale almost wondered if the man was an enchanter of some kind but, as Graves' eyes left him, the Kobold realized that what he felt was not magic-- it was pure and true charisma coupled with a welcoming smile and he promised to stow that trick away for later use himself.

The conversation seemed to go well with Graves going so far as to introduce the various groups present. Blackscale had, of course, already identified them himself, but it was good to know that the Assembly's speaker took the time to acknowledge their guests. The Kobold also found it intriguing that Graves didn't bother introducing individuals, leading him to believe that the Human didn't know everyone personally or, perhaps, just didn't feel the need to take the time to go over everyone individually; it was the first time Blackscale actually felt a small tingle of camaraderie with a Human since Kobolds knew that individuals only complicated things.

The little smile on his scaled lips didn't last long as a little shiver went up his spine; out of the corner of his eye he could tell that Nak-Nak had the same reaction. Both quickly backed away toward the knothole leading back to their tunnels but Snick, who'd also apparently caught the same warning as his companions, spoke up. "Lawgivers!"

It was strange to Blackscale how successful the various races of St Almar could be while also being so blind and deaf. It didn't take long for Snick's warning to be taken to heart and a split second later the sound of joined combat crashed the party from a large tunnel on the opposite side of the courtyard. By then, however, Blackscale and his companions were already on their way through the knothole.

As they made their get-away, Snick murmured "I hope everyone gets out of there okay..."

Nak-Nak snorted back from the front of the group. "Other than the knothole I don't think there are any ways out except through the Lawgivers."

Blackscale held his tongue; he wasn't about to speak up on a topic to which he didn't have anything to add. He did, however, resolve to work on piecing together a few traps to line the tunnel behind them. It wasn't likely that the Lawgivers would locate the knothole but if they did, and bothered trying to squeeze their large bodies through it, the least he could do was leave a few 'gifts' behind for them.