Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 27: 27. The Debts You Keep

Read chapter 27 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

27. The Debts You Keep I am Shadow, 9 arcs old, a metal golem imbued with a copy of Ren Drakemore’s soul, and an adventurer on a quest to find several missing persons. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/51f2eb33-199c-4126-a5b5-1bea5c8fc16a I stand in the shattered doorway, surveying the room now littered with splintered wood. At the center, a group of small kobolds huddle behind a low stone wall and a wooden gate. Ten much smaller, naked hatchlings cling to a single figure standing protectively in front of them—an emerald-green kobold draped in white and gray robes. The larger kobold, barely two and a half feet tall, stands rigid, clawed fists clenched at its sides. Its green eyes blaze with defiance, shielding the hatchlings behind it. For a moment, I take in its form—it looks like a miniature, wingless dragon forced into clothing. The hatchlings, a mix of colors, resemble tiny horned lizards, too young to stand on their hind legs. “So what do we do?” Maribel whispers, peeking around the edge of the doorway. “They look like infants,” I say, turning toward her. “The bigger one might be a juvenile.” CLANG. A conjured stone slams into the side of my head and bounces off. I turn back to see the emerald kobold baring its teeth at me, fury flashing in its eyes. "Hey! Stop that. We’re here to help—" THUD. My words are cut off as a second stone is flung straight toward my head. However, this time the projectile had struck my newly cast barrier and ricochets harmlessly to the floor. “She’s… a mage?” The mild annoyance of having rocks tossed at my head is quickly overshadowed by the shocking realization that this short, bipedal lizard has just cast a spell. “I didn’t know kobolds could do that…” I mutter. “She looks angry,” Maribel remarks. THUD. “I can tell,” I say flatly, watching as the kobold summons another projectile. THUD. “Hey, could you please stop that? We’re not going to hurt you.” THUD. “Uh, Shadow,” Maribel interjects, “kobolds don’t speak Common.” “…Right.” Of course. If I had thought about it, I would have realized it was unreasonable to expect an isolated underground-dwelling creature to understand my language. I know a bit about kobolds from Ren’s studies—enough to know they are distantly related to dragons and that they speak Draconic. THUD. “The poor thing is probably terrified,” Maribel says, sounding guilty. “You’re three times her size, covered in blood, and just exploded their door all over them…” “Yeah, sorry about that…” I respond sheepishly, kneeling down to make myself seem less intimidating. The emerald-scaled kobold’s expression shifts from fury to confusion as her green eyes follow me downward. She hesitates, finally pausing her relentless bombardment. Whether my gesture has been interpreted as an act of goodwill or she’s simply growing tired from expending her mana fruitlessly, I can’t be sure. “Wait, I think I’ve got some food…” Maribel says, rummaging through her magic bag. As she searches, the kobold mage and I continue to silently observe each other. I rack my mind, trying to remember something—anything—that might help. Then it hits me. Ren had briefly read a book called The Wisdom of the Dragon Lord, a religious text borrowed from the Magic Academy. The book had been filled with supposed teachings of the Dragon God Voltheron, but what made it relevant to me now was that every passage had been written in both Common and Draconic. Ren had barely gotten through ten pages before losing interest. But I have a near-perfect memory. I should be able to piece together enough Draconic to at least tell her we’re here to help. “Okay, I think I’ve got it,” I say confidently. “I’m going to tell her we mean no harm.” “No rudding way…” Maribel stares at me in disbelief. “You speak Draconic?” “Yeah, I speak a bit of it,” I say proudly, enjoying the rare opportunity to impress Maribel yet again with my inexplicable skills. “Wow, what can’t you do?” Maribel mutters, impressed. I take a moment to