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“The Adventurers” by Kandrel
Don’t let the human-centric fantasy world-view convince you that Kobolds can’t be adventurers, too!
Today’s story is “Adventurers” by Kandrel, who denies that he is actually three kobolds in a trench-coat, and you can find more of his stories at www.foxyonline.com.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story is
Speaker:“Adventurers” by Kandrel,
Speaker:who denies that he is actually three kobolds in a trench-coat,
Speaker:and you can find more of his stories on his webpage,
Speaker:www.foxyonline.com.
Speaker:Please enjoy:
Speaker:“Adventurers” by Kandrel
Speaker:Duke Somerfell was not having a good day.
Speaker:It was a sunny day out.
Speaker:The birds were chirping
Speaker:and the apple orchard was in bloom.
Speaker:He’d even had cherries in his breakfast brought to him
Speaker:from the tree his father had imported as a seedling from the east.
Speaker:If Duke Somerfell had been a simpler man,
Speaker:it would have been a good day.
Speaker:But he wasn’t. He was a complicated man, and complicated men had complicated reasons for their moods.
Speaker:For one—the sun. It was the middle of spring and the sun was shining down hot.
Speaker:It was basking weather,
Speaker:and when it was basking weather,
Speaker:the dragons came out.
Speaker:You’d find them sprawled on mountain meadows and across the tops of trees in the high forests.
Speaker:He was the lord of nearly two hundred thousand acres of prime dragon territory,
Speaker:and the dragons were such a
Speaker:complication. Second, he reminded himself,
Speaker:his daughter had been taken.
Speaker:She had been on her way to the south to meet Lord Pindlefeather’s son
Speaker:—her betrothed and soon-to-be husband.
Speaker:It’d been such a neat little contract.
Speaker:Within a generation,
Speaker:the Somerfells would instead lay claim over half a million
Speaker:acres. That is, if the dragon
Speaker:(see previous complication)
Speaker:hadn’t taken interest in her caravan and made off with her and her rather enormous…
Speaker:Dowry. Little Miss Somerfell had been another complication.
Speaker:She took after her mother’s homeland
Speaker:—large and northern.
Speaker:Why had he ever taken a wife from the northern tribes?
Speaker:Of course, there had been the treaty.
Speaker:And the land. His northern border had swollen to twice its previous girth.
Speaker:But when his daughter had arrived…
Speaker:Well. She was his first and only child, but if you measured purely by mass, he had a truly prolific amount of heir.
Speaker:She wasn’t fat—that he could have solved by hiring a well-trained chef and a disciplinarian to look after her.
Speaker:No, instead she was…
Speaker:Northern. In the north, they had myths and legends of giants and titans
Speaker:that wandered the mountains in the ancient days.
Speaker:If Little Miss Somerfell’s stature was any measure,
Speaker:she was a direct descendant.
Speaker:When he’d first been told that a dragon had picked up his daughter and flown off with her, he had to stifle his first question,
Speaker:which had been “How?”
Speaker:Instead, he’d made the edict across his lands.
Speaker:Bounty notices and broadsheets were hung in villages and towns.
Speaker:He who could return his daughter to him would be granted a parcel of land and a bag of gold as heavy as he could carry.
Speaker:It had been an ingenious reward,
Speaker:he had to admit to himself.
Speaker:It didn’t specify the size of the land grant,
Speaker:nor its location.
Speaker:Further, gold was much heavier than your normal person realized.
Speaker:It was riches to your small-town country bumpkin hero,
Speaker:but it would barely make a dent in the treasury for Duke Somerfell.
Speaker:He was pouring himself a morning tipple when he heard the door to his solar open.
Speaker:Seabridge, his butler,
Speaker:entered and bowed.
Speaker:“May I present the Heroes, my lord.
Speaker:In response to your bounty.”
Speaker:“Ah, of course.” He continued pouring.
Speaker:He hated adventurers.
Speaker:They dragged in mud with them.
Speaker:Still, he had asked for them to come.
Speaker:It was just another little frustration to darken his day.
Speaker:“Thank you for coming.
Speaker:I must admit, I’m impressed.
Speaker:I only just posted the bounty yesterday.
Speaker:I hadn’t expected anyone to respond so promptly.
Speaker:Would you care for brandy?
Speaker:It’s a-” “Yip!” Duke Somerfell stopped in his pouring.
Speaker:Had that been a yes?
Speaker:To be on the safe side, he took another glass from the sideboard and filled it half-full.
Speaker:It was a Andian Red.
Speaker:It was burgundy in the shot glasses,
Speaker:and gave off the potent whiff of cherry.
Speaker:He turned, holding the half-full glass out in one hand.
Speaker:“Now, as the broadsheet said, I’m willing to pay-”
Speaker:He stopped. “Seabridge.”
Speaker:“Yes, my lord?” “There are kobolds in my solar.” “Yes,
Speaker:sir. They are the heroes.”
Speaker:The closest kobold reached up
Speaker:and retrieved the shot glass from his outstretched hand.
Speaker:He pulled his hand back as if he’d been stung.
Speaker:The kobold appeared not to notice.
Speaker:It ducked its head into the shot glass and inhaled the brandy in a single hissing gulp.
Speaker:It handed the glass back,
Speaker:and with stunned reflex,
Speaker:Duke Somerfell took it.
Speaker:“More!” The kobold seemed to hesitate, as if remembering something.
Speaker:“Please.” His hands poured another measure of brandy automatically.
Speaker:Turning away from the little scaled hellions gave his mind a moment to catch up.
Speaker:“Seabridge, I need seasoned adventurers, not…”
Speaker:His mouth formed the word
Speaker:vermin, but he was too well cultured to let it slip out.
Speaker:“Have letter! Here, read!”
Speaker:There was the crinkling of paper behind him.
Speaker:Seabridge’s neutral voice cut through the silence that followed.
Speaker:“It appears, my lord, that these heroes do in fact have a letter that states that they are genuine
Speaker:adventurers. Oh my, and it has the royal seal on it.
Speaker:It appears to be genuine.”
Speaker:“Give it here!” Duke Somerfell stepped over a scaled tail and grabbed the paper from his butler.
Speaker:It was an official letter of commendation,
Speaker:citing the adventurers bearing it as crusaders of the crown.
Speaker:On the bottom was a small splotch of wax,
Speaker:and the royal seal embossed into it
Speaker:was unique and unmistakable.
Speaker:His headache did not improve.
Speaker:A duke of his stature didn’t just throw authorized crusaders of the crown out of his manse,
Speaker:regardless of their unconventional stature.
Speaker:“I… See.” He handed the letter back to one of the kobolds,
Speaker:who snatched it from his fingers.
Speaker:“Well, I must apologize then.
Speaker:I wasn’t aware we had such hardened veterans in our midst.
Speaker:midst.” The lead kobold beamed a smile that showed very small and sharp teeth.
Speaker:There were four of them.
Speaker:None of them even came up as high as his waist.
Speaker:The leader—or he assumed it was their leader
Speaker:—wore a simple black robe and carried a simple baton at its side.
Speaker:Its scales were a dark, royal blue,
Speaker:so deep that in the strong light of the solar
Speaker:it almost appeared black.
Speaker:Behind that was another in hunter’s leathers,
Speaker:and to the side were two others that wore shining mail.
Speaker:The last two bore a sheathed sword between them,
Speaker:too heavy for either one of them to carry alone.
Speaker:“Am Kilik! Knights Dak and Tibbit.
Speaker:Squire is Pik.” “I, eh, am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Speaker:The duke hesitated.
Speaker:How does someone even address kobolds?
Speaker:“Well, obviously you’ve read my bounty.”
Speaker:The lead kobold’s eyes shifted nervously.
Speaker:“Read. Yes. Of course.
Speaker:But, say Pik here no good at reading.
Speaker:Tell us out loud?”
Speaker:There was that strange delay again.
Speaker:The one she called Pik
Speaker:glowered. “Please?” Duke Somerfell held his hand out again, and the brandy glass disappeared from it.
Speaker:Before the lead kobold could dunk its head in again,
Speaker:there was a squabble, and the glass sloshed its way over to the kobold in leathers.
Speaker:He inhaled it and handed the glass back with a cross-eyed smile.
Speaker:“Well, the terms are clear.
Speaker:For the safe return of my daughter from the dragon that’s absconded with her,
Speaker:I’m offering a parcel of land from my estate, and as much gold in a bag as you can carry.”
Speaker:There was conversation between the kobolds in their hissing, clattering tongue.
Speaker:Then the lead one looked up at him sharply. “Mount Deek-ik.” Duke Somerfell paused. It took a moment for him to translate.
Speaker:Mount Dechic was on the border of his domain.
Speaker:In truth, the river that flowed down from its slopes was used as one of the demarcations of his lands.
Speaker:It was craggy and heavily wooded.
Speaker:Even though it was technically part of his lands,
Speaker:no one lived there—at least,
Speaker:none of his estates claimed it as farm land.
Speaker:“Ye-es. I could see fit to that.”
Speaker:It was better than he’d hoped.
Speaker:He’d thought he’d have to give away a small but still important part of his lands.
Speaker:This, though, was far from his estates
Speaker:and virtually meaningless.
Speaker:“But first you’ll need to retrieve my daughter.
Speaker:You are aware she’s been taken by a dragon.”
Speaker:“Yip! Yip. Dragon.
Speaker:Yes.” “Large beast with wings?”
Speaker:“Big scales. Breathes fire. Yip!”
Speaker:“I can’t help but notice.”
Speaker:He ventured casually, as if it’d only crossed his mind.
Speaker:“That you are very small.”
Speaker:“Size not importants!
Speaker:Kobolds smart.” “Yes,
Speaker:but against a dragon-”
Speaker:“Not much smaller than you compared to a dragon, Mr. Duke person.”
Speaker:He had to admit it had a point.
Speaker:“But those two can’t even hoist their own sword!”
Speaker:“No need, yip! They’s mounted cavalry!”
Speaker:Duke Somerfell let that ruminate for a moment.
Speaker:“They ride a horse?
Speaker:Anyway, they still need to hold the sword, even if they’re mounted.”
Speaker:“Sword not for them.
Speaker:For their mount.” “For their…”
Speaker:His butler broke
Speaker:in. “They have a minotaur in the stables, my lord.”
Speaker:Of course they did.
Speaker:Duke Somerfell put thumbs against his sinuses.
Speaker:He was going to have cherries with his lunch, too.
Speaker:He’d earned it. “Right. Seabridge,
Speaker:would you give them maps and…”
Speaker:He remembered the part about them not reading very well.
Speaker:“Point them in the general direction?”
Speaker:“Yip! We gots the mission!”
Speaker:There was a hissing cheer from the kobolds that made his head throb.
Speaker:His butler buttled them from the solar,
Speaker:leaving Duke Somerfell on his own
Speaker:with the brandy. He was going to regret this later.
Speaker:He was sure of it. -
Speaker:“Oh, I do hope he comes soon.
Speaker:Do you think he’ll be dashing?
Speaker:I’ve read all about how betrothed princes are supposed to be gallant in their suits of shining armor.”
Speaker:Would the princess ever shut up?
Speaker:Ankomorhigal the green wished she had external ear-holes to cover.
Speaker:The stupid human had been going on like that for a whole day, straight. ‘Would
Speaker:the prince be this?’ ‘Would the prince do that’? Faugh!
Speaker:It was bad protocol to eat the princess before even the first knight showed up,
Speaker:but how could it get any worse?
Speaker:If she opened her mouth just one more time
Speaker:- “Do you know his name?
Speaker:His name is Teyvo!
Speaker:That’s so exotic!
Speaker:Father says his mother is from the western savage lands.”
Speaker:Little Miss Somerfell stated matter-of-factly.
Speaker:“Just be QUIET!” Ankomorhigal roared.
Speaker:She wasn’t good at many things other dragons were good with.
Speaker:She couldn’t do magic
Speaker:—it was too fiddly.
Speaker:She wasn’t an expert flyer, though she muddled along well enough.
Speaker:She was, however, particularly good at being
Speaker:loud. Making herself heard in capital letters was really her ‘thing’.
Speaker:At the thunderous roar, the captive princes broke out into tears and sobs.
Speaker:Oh. Well, that’s how it could get worse.
Speaker:The human’s wracking cries echoed off of the walls of the dragon horde.
Speaker:Then the noise just…
Speaker:Stopped. At first, Ankomorhigal thought perhaps the human had died.
Speaker:They’re such soft, squishy things.
Speaker:It was possible. Oh, if only to dream.
Speaker:But then, she got that certain tingle.
Speaker:Someone had entered her lair!
Speaker:She stood and unfurled her wings.
Speaker:She inhaled. It was the prince!
Speaker:It was her prey! It was-
Speaker:Actually, she coughed out the snort of flame she was about to roast her visitor with,
Speaker:no. It was only a couple of kobolds.
Speaker:She scowled and lowered her head
Speaker:so she could look at them directly.
Speaker:They were little lizard-like folks with dark metallic blue scales.
Speaker:Must have been from the mountains.
Speaker:The kobolds here in the foothills were mostly green and red.
Speaker:“What do you want?
Speaker:As you can see, I’m a little busy here!”
Speaker:She narrowed her eyes at the unwelcome intruders.
Speaker:“Who do you represent?”
Speaker:“No one, your magnificence!”
Speaker:The leader said. “We came because of the human girl.
Speaker:girl.” “What of her?” She took a closer look at the lead kobold.
Speaker:Female. Clever. She liked clever kobolds.
Speaker:She employed a few herself.
Speaker:The kobold prostrated herself.
Speaker:“The girl’s father hiring mercenaries to find her, oh-mistress-of-the-scales.”
Speaker:“Mercenaries? That’s odd.
Speaker:I thought it was normal for the king to send his knights to find her.”
Speaker:The kobolds squabbled among each other for a moment.
Speaker:The leader turned back,
Speaker:timidly prostrating herself.
Speaker:“Ill news, lady-of-the-sky.
Speaker:The girl you’ve captured isn’t king’s daughter.
Speaker:Her father a duke. Stupid, small, provincial duke.”
Speaker:“WHAT?” The kobolds cringed back from her capital letters.
Speaker:She looked at the ‘princess’ again.
Speaker:Pink, frilly dress,
Speaker:useless and constricting so badly she could barely move.
Speaker:Impractical footwear.
Speaker:Her cart had carried gems and gold for her horde.
Speaker:If not a princess…
Speaker:“Girl, give me your tiara.”
Speaker:Little Miss Somerfell blinked incoherently,
Speaker:but at another roar removed her headpiece.
Speaker:The dragon caught it with one claw and swung it up into her mouth.
Speaker:Gold, with a hint of…
Speaker:No. After just a moment, the taste of gold faded,
Speaker:to be replaced with tin and copper.
Speaker:She spat the offending decoration from her mouth
Speaker:and wailed. “Tin! You’re right,
Speaker:she’s a duchess. Oh, what’s the point?”
Speaker:Ankomorhigal collapsed on her horde.
Speaker:There were thousands of coins (mostly silver)
Speaker:and semi-precious stones piled into a comfortable heap beneath her,
Speaker:but what was it all worth?
Speaker:It was just metal.
Speaker:Sure, it was comfortable, but a horde couldn’t buy a mate.
Speaker:Princesses, and deep-fried knights,
Speaker:now that was what could snare a male.
Speaker:Show her strength, show her dominance,
Speaker:and any virile dragon would beg to worship her…
Speaker:She felt a timid hand on her snout.
Speaker:Her eyes snapped open,
Speaker:but it was only the female kobold.
Speaker:“Don’t despair.” “What would you know of it?”
Speaker:She spat. “You’re just a little kobold.
Speaker:Your den must have a thousand eligible males.
Speaker:I have to entice one from mountains away,
Speaker:and here I am with some silly duchess instead of a princess.”
Speaker:“True.” The kobold cocked her head to the side.
Speaker:“But what you need with a male?
Speaker:You right, I am silly little kobold. Stupid silly.
Speaker:You are a magnificent dragon.
Speaker:Why bother measuring yourself by a male?”
Speaker:The dragon squinted her eyes.
Speaker:“I do not understand.
Speaker:understand.” “Have seen some dragons.
Speaker:They come visit our male-dragon back home.
Speaker:Maybe not best judge,
Speaker:but you gorgeous dragon-ess.
Speaker:Not need princess. Not need knights.
Speaker:Just need to be yourself.
Speaker:Beautiful. Dangerous.
Speaker:Deadly. Breath fire.
Speaker:Princesses just loud and obnoxious.”
Speaker:The kobold was right, there.
Speaker:“But still, without a princess
Speaker:—without a mate…” “Silly kobold. Is true.
Speaker:But maybe you answer own question.
Speaker:What you want to be, great-ravager-of-kingdoms?” Ankomorhigal stopped and thought. “I will be a dragon queen! I will rule everything for as far as I can see from the top of my mountain!” “Yes! Beauty! Power! Dominion!
Speaker:And, um, stupid kobold not understand.
Speaker:How will having male dragon here help you get there?”
Speaker:She opened her mouth,
Speaker:then closed it again.
Speaker:Actually, it wouldn’t.
Speaker:Hells, it would make it more difficult, actually.
Speaker:Damn! If she had a male, he’d want to take over.
Speaker:Then she’d have to fight him,
Speaker:and- “No. No! This was a horrible mistake!”
Speaker:She cast around for a solution,
Speaker:and settled on the kobolds.
Speaker:“You! You four.
Speaker:Take that useless girl and get her out of here!
Speaker:Maybe I’ll be able to salvage this mess yet.”
Speaker:The kobold bowed again
Speaker:and backed away. The girl and her pointless yammering was removed,
Speaker:and the dragon was left in peace.
Speaker:Quiet, contemplative peace. There
Speaker:were plans to hatch,
Speaker:and schemes to scheme,
Speaker:and this time they didn’t include stupid princesses
Speaker:or ruinous males. -
Speaker:It was another horrible day.
Speaker:Why, oh why, couldn’t the local habitat more accurately represent just how troublesome the day actually was?
Speaker:Duke Somerfell absent-mindedly kicked at a loose cobblestone as he prowled around his sun-filled meditation glade.
Speaker:Of course birds were singing in his closely clipped trees,
Speaker:and deer were frolicking in his carefully manicured lawns.
Speaker:That was the trouble with idyllic summer days.
Speaker:They had no concept of the gravity of the Duke’s troubled lifestyle.
Speaker:A door opened onto his small enclosed garden,
Speaker:and Seabridge stepped in.
Speaker:“My lord, your kobolds have returned,
Speaker:and I do believe they’ve brought your daughter with them.”
Speaker:He paused in his step.
Speaker:“Truly?” “Yes, sir. I’ve seen her up to her rooms.
Speaker:I’m sorry to say she preferred not to see you in person on her return.”
Speaker:“Oh.” He shrugged. “I’m sure my little princess has had a traumatic week.
Speaker:Please see that she is well seen-to while I arrange another caravan for her voyage down to-”
Speaker:“Ahem!” A loud exclamation erupted from behind the butler’s back. “Ah
Speaker:-hah. I do believe the kobolds wish to speak to you, my lord.”
Speaker:They did indeed. They scuttled around the attentive butler and crashed into the peaceful glade.
Speaker:“Found daughter. Promised payment!”
Speaker:“Yes, I did, didn’t I?”
Speaker:The duke scowled.
Speaker:He was loathe to reward the awful little creatures, but he had his reputation to see to.
Speaker:“Well, then, a bag of gold-”
Speaker:“Heavy as we can carry!”
Speaker:The leader danced on its spindly legs.
Speaker:“Heavy as one of you can carry, I do believe the agreement was.”
Speaker:“Yup!” Another one, the one she’d called Dak (or was it Tibbit?)
Speaker:leaned back against a newly planted birch sapling.
Speaker:It bent under the kobold’s weight.
Speaker:“Any of our party, yes?”
Speaker:“Y-esss.” The duke shrugged.
Speaker:“So, which one of you will be the one to carry it?”
Speaker:“Martin.” Another one said.
Speaker:Martin? Martin wasn’t a very kobold-ish name.
Speaker:“Who’s Martin.” “We’ll get him.
Speaker:Martin!” There was a crunch as Seabridge was pushed out of the way of the door,
Speaker:and a monstrous shape filled the frame, edge to edge.
Speaker:The kobold’s minotaur stepped into the glade,
Speaker:massive muscles sliding over each other on his massive biceps.
Speaker:When he looked closer,
Speaker:the duke could see that the musculature was actually sliding over even more muscles beneath it.
Speaker:Hell, even his muscles had muscles.
Speaker:“Now wait one minute!”
Speaker:“Martin important and meaningful part of adventuring party.
Speaker:party.” “Thanks boss.” The minotaur rumbled.
Speaker:“Don’t let it go to your head.”
Speaker:“Yes boss.” “But-” “Agreed! Signed! Contracted!
Speaker:Go back and we tell!”
Speaker:The kobold waved the crumpled paper in its hands,
Speaker:complete with the royal seal adorning its bottom.
Speaker:Damn. Damn damn damn.
Speaker:“Alright! Fine! Seabridge,
Speaker:would you take the minot
Speaker:—Sorry, would you take Martin to the treasure and have him hoist bags until we figure out how much gold he can lift?”
Speaker:“Of course, my lord.”
Speaker:“And land! Promised land!”
Speaker:The kobold leader was dancing with its damnable letter.
Speaker:“Yes, yes. Some land on the slopes of Mount Dechic.”
Speaker:He held his temples.
Speaker:It was going to be a difficult night as well.
Speaker:“And all ground below!”
Speaker:“What, do you plan to mine it?”
Speaker:“What we do with land is our business!” “Of course.
Speaker:Right. And land beneath it.”
Speaker:A contract was written up and a map was consulted.
Speaker:Martin returned with two hefty bags,
Speaker:straining the fabric at the seams.
Speaker:Duke Somerfell scrawled his name to the bottom,
Speaker:and the kobold splatted its hand in the ink next to
Speaker:it. “Is official! Kobold now own slopes of Mount Deek’ik!”
Speaker:“Yes. Yes you do. Now would you please-”
Speaker:“All kobold tribe live under Mount Deek’ik.
Speaker:Now kobolds own land,
Speaker:too!” “Oh? Is your tribe there?
Speaker:That’s nice. I-” “Contract signed!
Speaker:Kobolds now rulers of own land!
Speaker:Declare it kobold nation!
Speaker:Declare self queen Kilik of kobold nation!”
Speaker:“Wait, that’s not-” “Queen!
Speaker:Will send emmisary as soon as we get government set up.
Speaker:Expect us. Martin!
Speaker:Bring our riches! We have a kingdom to build!”
Speaker:Duke Somerfell sat down at the roots of the birch sapling.
Speaker:What had he done?
Speaker:A kobold nation, right on his front door?
Speaker:That was preposterous!
Speaker:“Father!” Oh, Little Miss was finally out of her rooms.
Speaker:At least some normalcy could resume.
Speaker:Duke Somerfell stood and brushed himself off.
Speaker:At least his daughter was obedient.
Speaker:At least she made sense.
Speaker:Then Little Miss stepped into his meditation grove.
Speaker:She was decked head to foot in leathers that looked like she’d stolen them from the guard captain.
Speaker:On her head was a steel bascinet,
Speaker:and glued to it were two antique drinking horns.
Speaker:She’d found some blue paint somewhere and marked streaks across her face.
Speaker:“Father, I’ve come to a decision.”
Speaker:“Little Miss! Go to your room and clean up right now. This is entirely unappropriate
Speaker:-” “No!” She wailed.
Speaker:“I learned a lot while I was away.”
Speaker:The duke reached out to catch his daughter for a sharp spanking,
Speaker:but she reached up and caught him instead.
Speaker:Her grip was iron.
Speaker:It was only then
Speaker:that it occurred to him that his daughter was a head taller than he was,
Speaker:and significantly broader across the shoulder.
Speaker:“Don’t call me Little Miss.
Speaker:My name is Angha of the Two-Horns tribe.
Speaker:I listened to the kobolds,
Speaker:and learned that I don’t need a man to tell me what to do.
Speaker:Getting captured was horrible.
Speaker:I’m going to learn and practice so it’ll never happen again.”
Speaker:She threw him back,
Speaker:and he stumbled to his rump in the dirt.
Speaker:“Tell that ‘Prince’ person that the engagement is off.
Speaker:Well, at least for now.
Speaker:I’m going north to learn about my heritage.
Speaker:Maybe when I come back he can ask for my hand.”
Speaker:Duke Somerfell gawped at her.
Speaker:“If, that is, he’s strong enough.
Speaker:If he’s worthy.” Little Miss walked into the adjoining solar
Speaker:and took the ceremonial sword he had hung above the mantle down.
Speaker:It was a good fit for her size.
Speaker:Then, without looking back,
Speaker:she kicked the front door of the manor open
Speaker:and strolled out into the world.
Speaker:The duke covered his face in regret.
Speaker:It had not been a good day.
Speaker:This was “Adventurers”
Speaker:by Kandrel, read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog
