Ch. 8 No leads

Kaz had to get away from Perish for just a moment, and he knew just the trick to do so. "Hey, I need to take a leak. I'll be right back." He said as relaxed as he could and took a step towards the door.

"Don't get any in my garden, alright?" She responded, looking back at the map. Kaz took the opportunity to exit the hut and make his way back into the forest out of sight from anyone. He pulled up his character sheet and looked it over.

NAME- Kaz Stromberg

STRENGTH- 2

DEXTERITY- 6

CONSTITUTION- 2

BODY- 4

INTELLIGENCE- 5

EGO- 6

PRESENCE- 6

BEAUTY- 0

RECOVERY- 1

SIZE- 4

POINTS- 1

SKILLS

- Stealth Lv 1

- Language- Draconic Lv 1

- Trap making- Lv 1

- Bluff- Lv 1

- Language- Common Lv 1

-

FEATS

- Humanoid Intelligence- Surprisingly smart for a kobold+3 Intelligence

- Kobold Heritage- Ugly, weak, small, stupid, and evil, but fast. -3 Strength, +1 Dexterity, -3 Constitution, Dark vision

- Dark Vision- As a member of the Underdark you can see in the dark

-4 Body, -3 Intelligence, +1 Presence, -5 Beauty, -3 Size.

- Weapon Familiarity simple weapons- Can use basic weapons with some measure of skill

- Ambitious- dreams of greater things. +1 Ego

Wow, a lot had changed, he thought. There were more skills and a new feat. Even a stat increased, but unlike his last one, he did not feel any different from it. "Xora, can you tell me anything about this world?"

"This world is called Dayma and has been around for billions of years. It is inhabited by many creatures, both sentient and non-sentient. Conflicts between humans and monsters happen on a daily occurrence, which has strained the relationships between the two."

Well, aside from the name of the planet, that did not tell him anything new. "Where is the nearest monster settlement Xora?"

"The closest known monster settlement is 15 miles to the west in the mountains of Kyrtha. A small kobold settlement lives there." Great, that must have been where he came from.

"Are there any other settlements nearby that are friendly to monsters?"

"No."

Well, it was worth a shot. So there were no monster towns or settlements that accepted monsters nearby, which means he would have to continue his way south towards the border if he were going to build an army of any sort. But based on what Perish said, it was a suicide mission. Perhaps he could try gaining some more character points by completing missions?

"Xora, are there any missions available for me?"

"Not at this time."

Okay, so nothing was coming up, Kaz today. He needed to think of something. What would he do if he were in Forged Fantasy? Probably grind his first few levels away on weaker mobs. But since he was a monster, did that mean he would have to grind on humans? The idea did not interest him all that much, considering just one human with any skill with a bow or blade would take him out quickly.

It was about time he headed back to the hut. There did not seem to be anymore point in sticking around the forest alone. Entering the hut, he noticed Perish had already fallen asleep in her bed. He decided to sit at the table and rest his head on the desk. Perhaps tomorrow will bring more ideas.

Dreams of his previous life flooded his mind.

***

"Where am I?" Fritz thought to himself as he awoke in an unfamiliar room. The walls and ceiling were white, and he felt the warm sheets over him. He went to move and found that his limbs were much longer now. He looked down to see that he had peach-colored skin and no claws at the end of his hands.

"Am I a…human?" Fritz looked around, and the door opened as a beautiful young woman with long black hair and a white nurse's outfit walked in. She noticed Fritz was awake and rushed over to him to keep him in bed.

"Don't try to move too much you were seriously hurt. I am surprised you can sit up like that." She helped him sit up a little more comfortably. The scent of her perfume was like that of fresh fruit, and it made Fritz feel warm and fuzzy inside. He blushed as she helped him.

"Where am I miss?" He asked as he realized his voice was no longer the tiny squeaking it used to be. He coughed a little as he spoke.

"You're in the nurses' station at school. A teacher found you collapsed in one of the classrooms alone. When we took you in, you were covered in bruises and had a few cracked ribs, but looking you over now, you seem to have made an astounding recovery. I don't have any words for it." She looked concerned but sighed and shook her head.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Fritz looked at her and then looked away. This was the first time he had seen a human up close who wasn't trying to kill him. He wanted to keep staring, but he felt awkward.

"I don't know, I'm sorry." He said quietly as he looked at his hands. The nurse took his hands and gripped them. Her hands were soft and warm; he became even redder as she looked him in the eyes.

"Don't ever apologize for something like that. I don't know who did this to you, but if you are not comfortable talking about it, I will leave it be. If you are feeling better, you can go home at any time. Just know that this place is open for you should you ever need to come here." She smiled and lit up his heart. Fritz could not help but stare now. Her smile was so pure and welcoming.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

"Penelope, what's yours?"

"Fritz." He said, not overthinking it. "Where exactly is my home again?" Penelope looked surprised. She went over to a binder on her table and started flipping through it. Fritz stood up and wobbled a little as he grew accustomed to the new size. He walked over and saw that it's some kind of registry with a bunch of pictures and names in it. She stopped on a page and looked confused.

"It says here your name is Kaz Stromberg, and you live at 4512 Fleacebark Street. Did you want me to take you home?"

"Kaz Stromberg," Fritz said slowly as he thought it over. This must have been the kobold's second chance at life. Thanking the gods in his head, Fritz nodded his head, and they both headed out.