• Kobolds. Kobalds and their evolution Gnolls are one of the few daemons that possess only a two stage evolution. Vicious cannibals whose only redeeming quality is the lengths they will go to protect their pack. There have been eyewitness accounts of a third four legged form much more deadly than the other two however many highly educated experts agree that for Gnolls to go from two to four legs is unlikely and have confirmed that Gnolls are the end of their evolutionary branch. Some scholars have suggested that it may be part of a divergent branch, but this well tested theory has been rejected by the adventurers guild, but once they have been brought around to a proper way of thinking then further research can be done to prove this theory.
    Excerpt from "Dangerous Daemons Vol. 4" by Ronald Frump.

    "Them holy joes are gaining on us boss!" cried Gobu Mi.
    "I feckin noticed now turn around and keep your eyes on where you going!! Knocker shouted.

    The day had started off well enough. Eager to set his plans in motion he had made sure that the expedition was ready to go once the elder gobs had been taken care of and that's what they had done as soon as the sun was up Knocker with his lieutenants Gobu Mi and Gobu La, some of their respective troops as well as some of Gobu Re's mages and Gobu So's clerics had left their minehole for what they had hoped would be a fruitful outing.

    Ten in all so as to maintain a low profile Knocker intended for the expedition to locate new delves and ruins for his goblins to loot as well as make contact with other races and groups on the peninsula with which they could trade. Many had tried to make the peninsula their home over the millennia and many had failed. Only two races could be said to have succeeded, the Drow and the Delphs, with even the wood elves only being a distant third despite their delusions otherwise.

    Now Knocker had no intention of making any deals with either elven races and so planned to completely avoid their respective territories, but the Delphs were a different story. The peninsula was divided in two between the southern forest and the northern plains and it was the plains where with little challenge the Delphs had settled and prospered. Lorgo had assured Knocker that while they wouldn't exactly be happy to see them the Delphs weren't quick to violence and weren't the types to hold a grudge so they would likely give him a chance to say his piece.

    Once Knocker had learned of how the Delphs did things he knew that they would be the perfect partners. With the limits of their Geode magics and preferring not to subject themselves to any more hard labor than they felt absolutely necessary the Delvin mines were still plenty rich in ores and gems. In exchange for labor in their mines Knocker hoped to gain access to their trading enterprises, establish a second base and acquire fruits and vegetables that he had been shocked to learn that the lack of was one of the main causes of many of the diseases and deaths that plagued gobkind. The Delphs were perfect and an agreement all but inevitable. So of course everything went to shite.

    It wasn't even midday before a group of thirty or so wood elves had spotted and attacked them. Knocker didn't know why they were so far from their territory or why they seemed so haggard and harried, he was just glad that his scouts had spotted them first and that he'd ordered Gobu Ti to secure enough mounts for everyone and all of their gear. He'd of been happier if the wankers would stop chasing them.

    Since Orc-Killer was smart enough to steer himself Knocker went ahead and turned himself around in his saddle and provided cover fire with his crossbow. Now this wasn't any ordinary crossbow as Knocker had combined it with an old teleportation invention of Lorgo's that allowed it to automatically reload from his ammo supplies back at the minehole. It was bulky and had a number of other not so minor issues but it got the job done... usually. In this instance the lack of control over when and which of his specially modified arrows, the fact that he only had ten such arrows, and the fact that only two of them had been designed to be lethal with the other eight made to restrain made things tricky enough, but combined with the fact he was facing wood elves in a forest and being an average shot had Knocker feeling fairly surprised that he had actually managed to take out fifteen of them

    Still fifteen wood elves were nothing to sneeze at and Knocker had no intention of risking a close up confrontation. Just as he was beginning to wonder how many unmodified arrows he had left Orc-Killer suddenly stopped as did the wood elves. As he began turning to see what was happening a great shadow passed over him followed by a fierce wind that threatened to knock him to the ground. As he regained his balance he looked back towards the elves and witnessed something he would never forget.

    A massive Dragon whose burnished scales could make the night of the new moon seem bright in comparison. It tore through the elves chomping and crushing and whatever else it could do in order to kill every last elf and all the goblins could do was watch. Not run, not cheer, not scream only stare and not because of the scene itself but what they felt. Power, age, a level of rage that even such a massive body as the Dragon's should not have been able to hold and such pain that they would never wish upon their most bitter of enemies so long as they lived.

    When the Dragon had finished it's slaughter it immediately turned towards what would undoubtedly be it's next target and as it did so it's eyes met Knockers and as fleeting as it might have been he saw recognition in them. It was then that he realized that there had been no Dragon breath. While he knew many species of dragon lacked such a weapon he knew that this Dragon was not one of those. Despite it's anger and pain it had made no use of the terrible weapon he knew it possessed just as it had made no sound as it flew or landed beyond the wind. The latter was strategic but the former had been mercy. Mercy for a goblin.

    It would be years before Knocker found words to go with his next decision and it would only be one. Fate. He spurred Orc-Killer to follow the Dragon as it flew off. Slow enough to follow but fast enough to always stay miles ahead. Eventually he saw it land and after a few moments it flew off once more. Rather than continue to follow it Fate as he would later tell it led him to continue on to where it landed.

    As he reached to edge of a small cliff face overlooking the ruins of a small temple he gazed down at another massacre. One of pain and rage just as before but this was not the work of the Dragon. No this was the work of the blood soaked figure standing in the center of the the carnage. As he looked down at this scene he could only say one thing.
    "Is she naked?"

    Thraat Sleazemaw was not a happy Gnoll on a good day. Today was not a good day although it should have been. All of the arrangements for the Temple offering ceremony had been completed and the children to be sent had been readied but his own daughter Ama along with her twin brother Terasu were nowhere to be found, it was bad enough he that he had to go stomping around the forest looking for his two youngest himself when he should have been able to call on any number of his retainers but that old b***h Chie had been making remarks lately about how ones children reflected ones ability as an Alpha. An idiotic belief and Chie knew it, but she still had some clout and Thraat had worked too hard for too long to get where he was to let that old hound or his brats bring him down over such a half cocked idea. Thraat's mood worsened when it became obvious that they had gone to their older sibling Toshiro's den.

    Tradition demanded that any child who remained an Inugami for more than five years was weak and should become food for the pack. However there was no doubt that Toshiro was an exception. Not only fending off any attacks without killing anyone but even maintaining a presence near the pack's Den for seven years. Thraat could have allowed Toshiro to remain within the pack but he had not become, to his knowledge, the first male to ever lead a full pack by making exceptions.

    It had been difficult and his power was still not as firm as he'd like but he had managed to overthrow the matriarchy of his people, taking control over his own destiny and he would let nothing jeopardize that. Besides Inugami while only the beginning of the kobald life cycle were extremely quick, and agile enough so that they were far too dangerous to be left as they were for too long, lest they get any ideas.

    Thraat Sleazemaw was a blight on the pack. Toshiro could forgive his being the Alpha despite his gender if he actually acted like one. All he seemed to care about was accumulating power and using it against his own pack, never listening to any advice or ideas save his own. The matriarchy before him wasn't perfect but at least they had listened to others, male or female.

    The pack had gone from a respectable village to hiding in a hole in the ground all so that Thraat could control even their comings and goings. Most of their pack lived in squalor while he and his inner circle had not only the best but far more than their fair share, and yet whenever the annual Temple ceremony came around he spared no expense and only took with him members of his inner circle. Combined with the fact that a few days after every ceremony he took his same warriors on exceedingly fruitful raids and Toshiro had no need for that mangy old mutt Chie whispering insinuations to know that Thraat was quite likely selling them to slavers. Today Toshiro intended to expose him and finally track down the those who had been sold, especially Toshiro's own sister.

    In a world dominated by races that saw their death's as a necessity having a pack grow too big too quickly was a liability, and as Kobolds birthed a minimum of two at a time something had to be done. So whenever a litter reached their second year one would be chosen to be sent to the temple of one of the Kobold gods and from there to other packs throughout the world. There were several such temples secreted throughout the massive forest and traditionally Toshiro's pack sent their tributes to the temple of Kerberos. Which is why Toshiro set out for the temple of The Morrigan.

    Of all the temples it was the only one nearby that was currently unused, but just in case Toshiro took a route that would allow the Inugami to scent for Ama who being female was the most likely of the the two to be sold off. It took longer but was necessary to ensure that Thraat remained unaware of anyone following him and that the right trail was followed. Besides which there was no way the slavers could move fast enough carrying the dozen or so Inugami that Toshiro could not track them down.

    Thraat and twenty of his warriors were still in the temple when Toshiro arrived, which was all to the good since Toshiro had no intention of allowing him to survive his crimes. Something Chie was likely to do as some kind of pointless power move.

    Something was wrong and it wasn't until the temple's entrance that Toshiro realized what it was. The smell. The smell of something fresh and warm and metallic in a quantity that chilled Toshiro to the bone, but it was nothing compared to the scene within the temple itself

    All of the Tributes were dead. The Gnolls and Kobolds Thraat had brung were skinning them as another twenty Wood elves waited impatiently for the payment of the the goods that they had brought. Thraat himself was just finishing up with Ama when someone drew their attention to the figure at the temples entrance.

    It wasn't until later that Toshiro had realized that it was her own growling that had alerted them. She didn't even notice her own roar before the world went white. White hot with splashes of red and memories too painful to bear.

    "Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" Ama and Terasu cried. Eager to gain her attention
    "Hmm?" Toshiro replied. Feigning disinterest in the antics of her younger siblings.
    "Look at what we caught Onee-chan!! A Dire Bull and we got it all by ourselves!!" The two exclaimed nearly in unison. Wagging their tails waiting for the praise they felt they were due.

    "Well so it is, and you say you brought it down alone?!" She asked while looking at the young calf that had not yet shown evidence of the massive horns it would have one day grown, much less the spiked armor that would have covered most of it's body. Something Toshiro had no intention of telling her younger siblings.

    "What am I going to tell Terasu?"It was this question that brought Toshiro out of the white world.

    They were all dead. Kobolds, Gnolls, Elves all dead. All except for Thraat who was desperately trying to crawl away with a number of injuries.
    "Why?" Toshiro asked feeling drained and startling Thraat.
    "It was necessary! It was for the pack! It was the only way we could keep them from killing all of us!" Thraat cried, desperate for anything that would keep him alive.

    He was lying. The Kobold lineage could tell by the scent of others as well as listening to their heartbeats whether someone was lying or not. His heartbeat was even despite his obvious panic and his scent was the same as it always was. Likely something taught to him by Chie when they had been allies. Was this the reason Chie had been goading her to take action? Hoping that she wouldn't have to reveal her little trick or it's weaknesses?

    She would pay dearly for her part in this. With her life if she had known what Thraat was really doing, but Toshiro didn't need his scent or his heartbeat to know the truth, not with a cart of trinkets and delicacies sitting in the room, not with the truth written in his eyes.

    She took a step forward intending to finish him however her feet no longer seemed able support her own weight. It was then she noticed all of the arrows sticking out of her as well as a number of blade wounds. Of course, even as fast and strong as she was taking forty warriors head on, half of which were elves and nearly as fast as her, of course she wasn't coming out of that unscathed.

    Thraat wanted to kill her. Everything was ruined thanks to her. The wood elves would seek retribution and there was no hiding this from the pack, not with so many dead. He wanted to kill her, but he hadn't the strength and in some part of his mind he refused to recognize he lacked the courage as well. It was only the sudden gleaming hope of survival that gave him the strength to make his way from the temple. He would survive.

    There would be time before anyone came to investigate and it would likely be one of his own warriors. There would have to be a purge. Chie and Toshiro would take the blame for this and anyone loyal to them would be eliminated. The wood elves were another issue but one he was certain he could overcome.

    Suddenly the sky went dark and a great burst of wind knocked Thraat to the ground. Looking back towards the temple he saw a massive Black Dragon standing atop the temple that was somehow suddenly missing its roof. Dumbstruck all Thraat could think about for several moments was what had happened to the roof? There was no debris nor had he heard it's destruction. Then Thraat's mind fully took in what he was seeing, coupled with his injuries and exhaustion it shut down and it was some time before another thought crossed his mind.

    Toshiro's eyes were heavy and moving her head was difficult but the being standing over her was worth the effort. Her eyes met those of a great Black Dragon and in that moment they shared everything. Eyes are the window to the soul and in that moment they saw each other's pain, their anger, their broken hearts. Toshiro could no longer hold her head up, nor keep her eyes open. All the Black Dragon could do was watch. Watch and shed but a single tear that fell onto Toshiro's dying body. That was all she could spare for another given her own grief.

    Toshiro wasn't aware of when the Black Dragon departed, but aware she was, far more than she had been moments earlier and far more still than a dying female should be. Strength had returned to her body which she used to return to all fours, but something wasn't right. Her forelegs weren't raising her up high enough. Trying to right herself she found herself standing on only two legs. It was then that she realized that her forepaws were no longer paws but hands. She glanced about herself and came to the realization that she was now a Kobold with fur as red as blood. Dumbstruck she stood there for several moments before hearing a voice call out.

    "Oi! Lassie! What the feckin hells are you doing out here butt arse naked?!"