The Weakest Kobold In The Dungeon Gets A Level [Book 1 Complete] Chapter 23: Chapter 21 : Through Ragged Breaths

Read chapter 23 of The Weakest Kobold In The Dungeon Gets A Level [Book 1 Complete] by KennyTheAwkwardDonut on NovelPedia.

Chapter 21 Through Ragged Breaths Screams filled the cold air. All throughout the kobold encampment flames danced from red to yellow and back, but the darkness of that night fought to eat away at the torch-flame’s light. “Stay here, stay quiet, and stay hidden,” he’d said. It’s so strange how some memories burn themselves into the front of your mind and yet others seem to be able to be kept even from yourself, tucked into the deep corners. But here he was in their tent, his uncle watching over him. This memory shouldn’t be here anymore, Nik thought. Kobolds had been nomads almost as far back as the world had existed, at least according to what the oral stories had always told. His family was the latest in a long, long line of wanderers. They were at one with the world around them, but there were more beings in this world now than there had been before the last sunfall. The mattress above his prone position would keep him from sight, but he curled himself towards the back just in case and covered his ears to block the sounds flooding in from outside the tent’s open flaps. The scent of smoke and ash crept into the tent, filling his lungs with a choking heat. Waiting for his parents to come back home, trying his best not to cough—not to make any noise at all, and hoping the big people would just go away, he cried in silence. Roaring winds tore at the tent until it was ripped away. Vanishing into the night. There in the middle of this memory, sitting upon his throne as the kobolds were being struck down all around him, was a king in an ebon crown. His uncle couldn’t see the king. No one could. His uncle was brave and kind, but his uncle was already dead. This was only a memory. The king looked straight into my eyes. Tower, he could see me. I had stayed hidden that night, I know I had. The king wasn’t there then, but he’s here now regardless. “What do we have here? A little nothing-kobold, hiding while his people die. How completely expected. Is this what happened during my slumber, your kin were wiped out by a band of multispecies thugs? If this is the stock you come from, well…. I had hoped all that bravado had meant something, but it looks like maybe your people were the weakest this world had to offer. Soon enough this world will be just like the other.” Uncle Jask fell back towards Nik. The rug bunched up under his back as he landed. The memory of his childhood thoughts repeated for him now. Why can’t we ever get the rug to lie flat? Dad and Mom had always complained about that. Nik knew what happened to his uncle, but he knew what had gone through his own mind then. That rug is always being a pain, Mom will ask why it has a large wrinkle and Dad will work to fix it. The king watched with a toothy smile as an elf appeared, hovering over Uncle Jask. She leaned down and pulled a bag of coins he’d never once seen from Uncle’s pocket. Nik yelped as a hand came from behind him to cover his mouth, and he was yanked out from under his bed. “Shhh, shhh, It’s okay, my little starlight. We’re here.” It was Mom, and Dad was just outside the slashed opening in the back of the tent that had reappeared around them. He was pulled through the opening and they each took one of his hands as they ran. The king’s laughter followed after them, but Nik knew that only he could hear it. * * * The mana-torches flickered and failed as the shaking cavern was plunged into inky blackness. As voices cried out in fear and surprise, Nik gasped in waking. The rumble slowed to a series of vibrations increasingly far between and more gentle with each of its echoes. His head still felt like it contained its own rumble and his arms were wrapped around something heavy; the child was still in his arms. They were crying, but they were still alive. He did it. Pearl was at his side, her voice calling out his name. He could feel the panic setting upon him as it dawned on him that the world was still blackness around him. Nik’s eyes searched the darkness in vain for his