-Roundhouse-
--A NaNoWriMo excerpt from Paupe/Asda
In the kingdom of Rune Midgard high atop Mount Mjolnir sat a lone woman. Her name was Popki, and she was a soul linker awaiting the arrival of an aspiring Tae Kwon Ranker who was eager to aid her in her current quest. However, despite the sentiments this was actually much more to her annoyance than to her aid. Tae Kwon martial artists in general were well-known around the world for their extraordinary abilities with their legs. They could leap higher than the lightest assassin, run faster than the fastest peco peco, and deal enough damage to hold their own with a monk. But, like anyone else, they had their weaknesses.
Popki, being a partial magic user, knew all too well that her protégé had long since run out of the spiritual power required to make the full jump up the mountain. In fact, she was counting on it, hoping it would inspire the guy to leave her be. Much to her dismay it didn’t. She picked up the sound of crisp grass crunching beneath the weight of someone’s feet in the distance. As it neared she stood, sighing slightly under her breath.
“Alright, it’s about time…” She said with just a tinge of anguish in her voice, “…I give you my—huh?’ Popki stopped herself when she realized what had actually walked beside her.
Standing at a mere two and a half feet fall was a small, dog-like creature with drooping ears and a curious face. Its soft-brown fur fell lightly from the seems of its tiny karate gi and its tail remained dormant; it was just as surprised as she was. For a moment, she considered it quite cute, but…
“Alright Kobold, that’s very funny but it’s not going to cut the cake.”
It blinked. “…Huh, wai--?”
“Estin!” the Linker cast out, a single flick of her wrist sending a small but incredibly fast wave of spiritual energy toward the unsuspectingly off-guard creature. It carried him quite a way back, not delivering a great deal of damage to him, but definitely shoving him away from her. It was the last of his worries, however, as he knew what was coming next: The coupe de gracie, a Soul Linker’s most powerful spell.
“Esma!” she followed up, he moved. The kobold quickly found his way out of the spell’s direction and toward a large stone for cover as a volley of missiles made of spiritual energy blasted the ground he was once standing on with enough force to blow a deep hole into the soil which stretched several meters and only got deeper. To think she wasn’t even aiming at the ground.
“Where’s your calvary now, Kobold?” She asked. A boastful comment usually, but it was unusually spoken with a calm and concentrated voice coming from the spiritual mage “…and here I thought my aid had exhausted himself. All along he’d been taken out by a lone pup that just happened to be in the area.”
Popki slowly paced toward the rock, cautiously preparing herself for any sudden attacks. This little guy was quite fast. It wasn’t everyday that a monster dodged her Esma, after all. She couldn’t let him get the jump on her anytime soon, or he might just leave a mark.
Though, from her target nothing was said. Not a response nor a quip, just a small whimper of worry from behind the rock. Awhile of silence and anticipation passed. Popki soon decided to get the jump on it instead, performing their profession’s signature leap and landing right in front of the startled and pinned Kobold’s form with a ball of energy trained toward its head. Or, where she thought its head should be.
What she found, however, was that the poor thing was curled into a ball, clutching its head. There was a bump on it, probably from striking the rock wrong. She couldn’t help but swoon for the thing in the moment.
“… If it wasn’t for the human you assaulted for that robe you’re wearing, I’d be able to spare your life.”
“B-but I…” it stammered in a soft but high pitched voice. Quite delightful to Popki’s cute-discerning ears “I didn’t harm anyone for this robe. I-it was given t-to me by Ff… Pheeo—“
“Pheonix granted that robe to Luno Kolaod, 9th level on the tae kwon ranking ladder. Don’t you lie to me.”
“I-it’s Nuno Kobold.” The creature corrected, “A-and that’s me!”
Popki blinked. She quickly released the spiritual power it took to form her next attack and thought for a moment. Could it be possible that the guild admitted a classified monster into their ranks? It was certainly unheard of, but… she’d heard and created enough odd stories herself for it to at least seem plausible. She herself was a master of more of her class’s skills than originally deemed possible for an un-reincarnated individual, and one of her best friends was an high wizard-like super novice (the irony of which was astounding).
“… Alright, I can believe that.” She said with a slight sigh. The kobold’s ears twitched lightly as they received those words. He gave his own relieved sigh. “Though, to prove yourself, I need you to answer a simple question for me.”
“Ah?” it chimed.
“What is today?”
The tiny kobold paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as it looked toward the skies. Then, its cute muzzle returned to her eyes and said assuredly, “Today is the day of the Stars.”
“Uh huh,” Popki nodded, “And how can you be sure of that?”
“Because… uhm. The days of the Moon are odd and the days of the Sun are even. The fifth day is the day of the Stars and… today is the first Star day of the month.”
“That’s right.” The linker smiled upon that, and reached down to give the little kobold’s head a playful ruffle as a reward of sorts. She figured that it was a lot better than a blast to the forehead. Of course she forgot his bump and accidentally nicked it, but after a short wince the kobold laughed it aside. Pulling itself onto its feet and brushing itself off, the young dog-man gave Popki a quick bow and a respectful bark with its salute.
“Nuno, 9th TK ranker reporting for duty misses Popki.”
“Misses? I didn’t know I was married.” She chuckled, “But thanks. I’m glad to have you aboard—oh…” That moment of joy quickly died when she reminded herself of her mission.
“Miss Popki?” the Kobold tae kwon asked. His inquiry was met with a forlorn sigh from the dispirited soul linker.
“Come with me.” she said. Her voice suddenly sounded what the kobold could only describe as somewhat bored; a description that forced a questioning tilt of his head before he followed along in her tracks.
He didn’t quite want or have to say it, but the area was honestly very new to the young Kobold. Though the walk was around an area that was a bit closer to home, it was a completely new avenue for him. Never before had he seen such enormous yet vibrant flora with such a potent yet sweet aroma. His nose served him quite well in being able to enjoy them from quite the distance and he would have loved to stop and just enjoy them if he weren’t on the heels of a very swift Linker.
She spared no detail—in that she dashed past them all. Though, given that it was quite the hike, it wasn’t much of a surprise. A few clicks here, a couple of jumps there, up a cliff, down a cliffs, around a few hills, through town, a few enraged mobs, over a grand peco nest. If they weren’t running so fast, that probably wouldn’t have ended well.
---
The scenery quickly changed after the nest, though. From a dense forest to a still as leafy but a lot more “fall” setting. Leaves of the varying colors of fall were scattered all about the lands here. No doubt caused by the high-pollutant steam factories just a few miles off. There weren’t as many trees anymore, just dead leaves… beautifully dead, but still dead.
Nuno finished the last jump rather low as it found itself hanging on the edge of the cliff face of yet another small leap over a 89-degree, 50-foot hill. For a moment he strained to pull its mostly unclothed lower half onto the safe topside of the hill, cursing itself for misgauging the jump, but he soon found his grasping paw in the firm yet gentle grip of Popki.
The kobold gasped in surprise, its gaze suddenly shifting from his grip on the soil to her soft brown eyes. It hadn’t really taken notice of them until now, when, aside from a hand, she also gave him both a smile and a slight giggle before she effortlessly tugged him both up to safety and onto his feet. Nuno blinked in surprise at her strength and blushed at the thought of her eyes again before then bowing in thanks. In all honesty, how quickly the human seemed to warm up to the thought of traveling with a Kobold was still rather shocking for it.
Little did it know that she was the sucker for little things that she personally found to be adorable. Just being able to touch his seemingly downy-soft fur made her want to melt into a puddle of absolute amore for his cuteness inside. But she kept her composure, both to not creep the poor thing out and so that she could actually accomplish what she’d set out to do.
“Take a look over here.” She said rather suddenly, prompting her kobold companion to quickly make his way over to her. She faced just off the side of the high climb, where upon looking over one could see quite an expanse of perpetually autumn valley. In its center, however, was what seemed to be a large colony of moving grey beings. Like ants, they seemed to be gathered together to build something, but it was impossible to tell from their current distance.
“Those are Venatu,” Popki said, just before Nuno could open his mouth to ask. “They’re building a structure above ground to add to the defenses of the lost city of Juperos. I’ve read a lot of reports lately about those Venatu attacking adventurers who came this way, but I would have never imagined that they would have expanded this far and were in numbers this large.”
“Hmm… I see.” Nuno said with an understanding nod. “So, you posted for assistance just in case of this, right?”
“Heavens no. That darn agent for the Schwartzwald Republic insisted it and filed it for me, I merely needed someone to humor me.”
Nuno scoffed, then remembered how they met. The power she displayed there only being a fraction of what she could do, the thought of her going down there and picking each one off by herself actually seemed rather plausible…
“So, let’s get going.” She said suddenly. Again.
“Huh? W-wait! You can’t do that!”
“Hm?” She stopped, “Why not?”
“B-because… uhm” The little kobold stammered. Having just thought of it being plausible didn’t help his reasoning for why it wasn’t at all. “…Because if you go down there alone now, you’ll be swarmed and they’ll tear you limb from limb. I recommend, uh… Calling for aid first, sending a mail off to the Schwartzwald Guard and letting them rain in with sheer numbers.”
“Oh, okay. That sounds like quite the good idea.” Popki replied. Her sarcasm wasn’t exactly thick enough to stop Nuno from pulling a slip from his adventurer’s pouch and beginning to practice scribbling his own little kobold form of their language on it, but was still present enough to make him do it slowly.
“… And while you’re doing that, I’m going in.” she added, leaping directly from their hill and making her way toward the scene at that rapid tae kwon speed she exhibited on the way over. Her kobold companion swore under his breath, barely having enough time to place its utensils away before giving chase.
---
Nightfall hit in what felt like only moments to the adventurers. Popki sat peacefully in front of a campfire, staring into the stars and reflecting back on the skirmish. Nuno was out like a light. Unfortunately (and fortunately) it being a monster race only confused the mechanical beings for a short while before they caught on and stopped holding back on the kobold.
Popki diverted her eyes from the stars to look over to it for a moment. Lying cutely, breathing softly rather than snoring. She figured that with the swarm of monsters hidden away now, it probably wouldn’t hurt for her to give in to temptation a bit. She eased her way over to the little kobold, reaching out for his feather-soft ears as she inched closer and closer… and closer… closer still…
“Ah!”
Popki quickly withdrew, her cheeks burning with a blush red enough to make a nation’s flag jealous. Embarassment would’ve fallen short of the word for the feeling she had for the moment, but, things remained silent. The reflexively closed eyes of the soul linker opened slowly, first one and then the other. Nuno was still sleep, he’d just turned her way in his slumber.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Popki placed her hand in her lap. “What am I doing…?” She asked under her breath, scooting back toward the still-burning campfire. “I need to kick this… Need. To. Kick. This.” As she motioned her thoughts, her foot knocked over Nuno’s sack, knocking a few of his possession out. She sighed again.
“… Not that.”
She quickly reached over and gathered the things that fell out: a few potions, some loot, a picture… Popki’s simple glance turned into a closer examination. “A picture of Nuno’s family. Each just as adorable as the next…” Of course, being no living beast encyclopedia nor husbandry student herself, she couldn’t exactly tell their genders, but there were definitely two adults and two kids…
“They’re my wife and kids.” Nuno spoke up from his nap sack, sending a chill of surprise up Popki’s spine that almost forced her to a stand. He chuckled a bit at her beet-red cheeks. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. They’re part of the reason I left the village…”
“They are?” Popki asked. He nodded.
“Back then, about a year ago, they were taken from me one by one. My sons took arms as a right of passage. My wife and I proudly cheered them on.”
“…Then?” She said, sliding back down to a comfortable sit.
“Then the humans attacked—mowed through our barricades, our homes… took my sons, my wife and destroyed many of the families living in Kordt Forest. I was honestly lucky to survive. When I came to, everything was gone and having nothing left to give me hope, I left.
“I was picked up by an eccentric acolyte near Geffen, taken in and cared for. After a few while of recovery I was released into the human world as an official adventurer, encouraged to start a new life just like the novices of your class system. I found out later that our attackers were a group of guild mates who had some how lost their way to Britoniah during a siege period. They were merely taking out their frustration over losing on the forest.”
“… I see.” Popki said apologetically.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s well over now.” Nuno waived, crawling back into his blanket on his side and easing his way back to sleep. “In the end it… Really wasn’t all as happy a life as I thought it was.”
The light of the campfire flames flickered off of the tip of the photograph in the soul linker’s hand. Its reflection seemingly avoided everyone but Nuno in the image, his heart burning in the hell that was his unrequited sorrows, regrets, fears. His soul was in desperate need of release.
“… A new life, huh?”
---
The sun rose slowly over the still autumn plateau. With it, both Popki and Nuno rose as well, prepping themselves and packing their things.
“Well, Miss Popki,” Nuno said sliding his things back into place on his back. His soul linking companion looked up from her things, gazing directly into his eyes for a long enough time to force a nervous blush out of the poor Kobold. “Th—thank you for the wonderful mission. I’m sure that the guild will greatly appreciate my progress here.”
“Yeah,” She replied with a short chuckle, “and probably a few ranks too.” They both laughed a bit.
“Hah, if it were that easy, everyone would be a ranker.”
Just what Popki wanted to hear—well, perhaps not just but she could certainly work with it.
“… Hey, Nuno.” She said shortly after he finished. “If you don’t mind me prodding, what is your next target?”
“Hillwind.” The kobold stated earnestly, a smile accenting the face that Popki could only describe as cute and fuzzy. “But that’ll be changed when I get back to town. It may take a few hours to do so, but, there’s no way I could take them on alone, so—”
“So… How do you think you’d do with a Soul Linker in your party?”
“Hmm. Well, providing I could find one I, might…” Nuno paused, a light bulb clicking in his mind. “Wait, are you asking me if…?” Popki gave him a crafty grin, a definite “yes” in her eyes. He blushed.
“W-well, I… erm… Sure, I… Ah. ”
“Shh…” she hushed, playfully placing a finger to his nose rather than his lips for difference in form. “I was thinking grand peco for breakfast. Would you care to join me?”
“Would I?” Nuno complied cheerfully, his tail wagging eagerly beneath his gi.
They departed Juperos’ entryway together on the day of the Sun.
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