The kobolds were a lot more hospitable after the tall ones had saved the lives of not just their hero, but all five of the pups that the dire maggot had attacked. From the two Arden carried to safety, Sheila learned the other three pups had been swallowed more or less whole, and after carving them out of the maggot's belly, they'd needed only a quick round of healing prayers to get them up and moving again.

With the pups safe, and List using her magic to get most of the sewage off of them, their party returned to heroes' welcomes in the makeshift kobold village. All of the tall ones were showered with presumed praises and gifts in the form of random odds and ends from the village horde, including a bell, a scarf, and necklace of teeth.

They were invited to share in a feast with the kobolds, which they politely declined as best they could, since the main course was slow-roasted dire maggot. Most of the kobolds didn't mind, save for the one with the apron, who grumbled under his breath.

They did however, entreat Sheila for her story, as the questions they'd racked up over her and the other kobolds had grown too numerous to count.

Valerie was fairly sure they missed some key details—Sheila was an excellent orator for a kobold—but they got enough to form a cohesive picture.

Sheila, like all kobolds, was born from a concentration of the ambient energy of draconic presence—what the kobolds called "life magic." But she had been born far from the Lochmire province, in a place where that presence was much, much stronger.

There, she and her fellow kobolds had been routinely captured and enslaved, along with countless tall ones. Until the day a dragonblood came who freed them, and put their captors to the sword.

Sheila followed that dragonblood for some time, learning his ways and studying under him until she too could wield a blade and use "life magic" to strengthen her body. Her master had even had a suit of armor commissioned for her that was blessed with the same power that blessed his own.

Sheila had wanted to follow her master forever. But he had pushed her to find her own path. Not sure what that might look like, Sheila wandered Xykesh.Everywhere she went, she found kobolds living in danger and squalor. For a time, she had tried to simply help them as she encountered them, channeling the behavior of her master. But she had felt unsatisfied, until she'd finally hit upon an idea. Her true purpose, and the path she would follow to make her savior and master proud.

"Sheila find all kobolds in Xykesh," she declared, "and together, kobolds create new home for kobolds, where kobolds live free and safe, and no tall ones or monsters ever bother kobolds ever again!"

"That sounds nice," Valerie said.

"Today, tall ones were different to other tall ones," Sheila went on. "Tall ones were friends to Sheila and kobolds. Sheila not forget this. When Sheila and kobolds make new world, tall ones die last."

". . . thank you?"

"I think she's serious," List said incredulously.

Sheila narrowed her eyes. "Sheila always serious."

"Is that what you were talking about earlier when you mentioned leaving?" Arden asked. "Traveling looking for other kobolds?"

Sheila nodded. "Sheila and kobolds leave tall one village soon. Sheila and kobolds have many more places to visit to look for kobolds, and Sheila still need to find land for kobolds to call kobolds' own."

"It does sound as if you have quite the journey ahead of you," Arden said. "We wish you the best of luck, Sheila. It has been a truly fascinating experience getting to meet you. But it is past time we returned to our own home."

"Tall ones no tell other tall ones of Sheila and kobolds plan?" Sheila asked.

"I doubt anyone would believe us even if we did," Valerie said.

The kobolds farewells were as spirited as their welcomes, showering them in a chorus of garbling voices and more gifts, which now included a rusty tankard, an old corset, and a spoon bent so badly it had been presented to Valerie as a bracelet, which she wore to avoid giving offense to their tiny hosts—and possible future rulers of Xykesh.

"Absolutely fascinating," Arden said. "That certainly explains why her armor could repel List's attacks. From her description, Sheila is channeling divine magic. That sort of power is driven by will, and so has a naturally ordered affinity to it that's perfect for repelling chaos magic."

"Obviously," List said, pretending she understood any of that. "I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner."

"Not to mention everything else we learned about the kobolds. Beings sprung from the ambient Presence of another creature. It sounds eerily similar to the druidic forces that create gnomes. I wonder—oh, we'll need to determine where that place Sheila described is. A place so dense with Presence that life can spontaneously generate."

"Is that our next destination then?" Valerie asked.

"Hm? Oh no. Just something to consider for future study," Arden said. "Trandore is still the priority for us, and by extension, securing the funds and supplies we'll need for such a journey.

"Maybe we can get Shen to pay us if we tell her we got rid of all the kobolds in the city," List suggested.

"That . . . is an excellent idea," Arden said, sounding surprised. "Sometimes I forget how resourceful you can be when the opportunity for personal gain presents itself. A few years of diligence and training, and you might just exceed my expectations of you."

"Only you could make a compliment sound like an insult," List retorted. Outwardly, she shot Arden a glare to communicate in as strong as possible terms what she thought about his expectations. As far as he needed to concern himself, she was in this for the money and the perks that came with it.

Privately, her mind flashed back to both fights from the day. How thrown off she'd been when she hadn't been able to get through Sheila's armor. When she'd needed Valerie to tell her what to do against the dire maggot. She had good instincts in a fight, but there was still so much she didn't know.

And she could only think of one way to fix that.

Hours later, after a hot bath in which she used an entire bar of soap and a meal prepared by a fully clothed dragonblood rather than an apron clad kobold, Valerie was back in her room, fashioning new crossbolts to replace the ones she'd expended that day.

Her own field journal lay open in front of her, her notes on the day still drying on the page. Arden's, she knew, would be more than twice as long as hers, covering more topics and going more in depth than she could even think to.

She liked to think she had a mind for this work—it'd be kind of sad to dedicate her life to it if she didn't—but she had to admit her eye for detail was far more practical than Arden, who drank in everything with the inquisitive nature befitting a scholar. Not for the first time, she considered what an odd pairing the doctor made with his soldier-saint. But clearly, Arden and Saint Hedwig had found enough in common to make the partnership work.

"War is waged with many tools," Arden used to say when she broached the topic. "The most potent of them is knowledge."

Valerie didn't look up from screwing on another bolt head as the door to her room opened. She recognized List's shoes out of the corner of her eye. It was only when the door shut, and she realized List was still just standing there that Valerie realized something was amiss.

"List?" Valerie asked. "Is everything alright?"

The hellborn's tail was flicking around the way it did when she was nervous, and she wasn't looking Valerie in the eye.

"Are you . . . busy?" List asked.

"I'm doing something," Valerie admitted, "but it's nothing I can't do later instead."

"I mean, I don't want to interrupt—"

"List. What is it?"

List cleared her throat. "Well. I gave it some thought, while I was in the bath. And after today, I was thinking . . . if your offer's still on the table . . . could you . . . teach me how to read?"

Valerie blinked in surprise, and List immediately held up a hand. "I'm not doing this because I've suddenly decided I actually want to listen to Arden. Alright? I still think the only reason his head is on his shoulders is because it's so far up his arse it came back out the other side."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Not the point." List took a deep breath. "I basically don't know anything about magic, or monsters, or anything else we deal with all the time. Today, I would have been lost in that fight if it weren't for you. I've had to rely on Arden to teach me the bare basics of a power that I use. I'm not about to turn into a scrib like you and Arden. But I want to be able to hold my own without you two having to worry about propping me up. And that's probably going to involve some reading. So, if you're willing to do it, and keep your mouth shut about it around Arden—"

"Of course."

List's mouth hung open, her face reddening from the embarrassment of asking for help—and over such a dumb, small, rudimentary thing. The fact that she was making such a big deal about it felt pathetic. And yet, there wasn't a hint of condescension on Valerie's face. Just an earnest desire help.

"Alright then," List said, clearing her throat. "Where do we start?"

Valerie looked around for the closest material she could find, and settled on her field journal. With no care for the still-drying ink, she flipped to a new page to begin the lesson.