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The fiery kobold trotted along the cobbled path, playing an unknown game as he hopped along the rocks as if they were burning his feet. He held an ornate dagger and slashed at the air, practicing his strikes. He was a bit of an oddball, in Garth’s mind.
Garth leaned down and whispered in Trix’s ear; “So, how exactly did you meet this guy?”
“Oh, Beanie?” Trix asked, gaze flitting to the kobold who was striding in front of them as they walked. He had just joined the party via Trix’s invitation, but Garth didn’t know how that actually came about.
Trix shrugged. “He sort of just… fell on top of me.”
“What?”
—
Trix hummed to himself as he stocked the shelves of his shop, carrying a box in his hands and wrapping his tail around the bottles to place them down.
He had just started stocking this new recipe and he was especially excited about the cute little star-shaped vials they came in.
He completed stocking the first box and ducked back behind the counter to grab the second box. Before he could do that, however, a loud crash sounded from the front of the store.
Trix dashed into the room, fireball ready.
“Who goes there?!” He demanded.
A scrawny hiss sounded from a couple aisles over, and Trix bounded over to face the intruder.
It was easy to spot the aisle that the suspect was in, as the shelves around it had completely collapsed onto the mystery thief. A groan sounded from underneath the shelves and an angry scaled tail started to lash around.
“Help me out of here!” The perp screeched.
Trix scowled. “You tried to rob my shop, why should I help you?”
The voice croaked again. “I wasn’t robbing your shop! I— I fucking fell!”
Trix blinked. “You— you what?” He said, and something in him commanded his neck upwards. There was a large, gaping hole in the roof of Trix’s shop, light pouring in from the new skylight, illuminating the shelves that the intruder was underneath.
“I fell! Help me out!” The intruder started to thrash and cough and the still up-right shelves wobbled dangerously.
“Well stop moving!” Trix extinguished his fireball and enlisted all his might to lift the shelves from atop the poor soul.
With a lot of effort and a lot of grunting, he managed to lift one shelf enough for the person to scramble out from underneath the rubble.
What popped out was a being that was even shorter than Trix, which was rare. He seemed to be a kobold with brown scales and blue ears, and a blue tongue poking out of his mouth.
He shook out his stumps-for-legs. “Rah! Thank you. You have been of the utmost service! You are worthy of being in my presence.”
“Uh… thanks?” Trix blinked, watching the kobold hop around on his feet.
“I’m Bean, but those worthy of basking in my fire are allowed to call me Beanie. What is your name, my good Samaritan?”
Trix hesitated, but replied. “My name is Trix… of Trix ‘N’ Sips… the store you just crashed through the roof of.”
“Ah, right. My apolocheese.”
Trix laughed. “It’s apologies, not apolocheese!”
Bean shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’d know if it was ‘apologies’.”
“You’re funny. And shorter than me.” Trix giggled.
“Hey!” Bean barked. “I am quite tall for my species, alright?!”
Trix stifled an even bigger laugh. “Right, right, sorry.”
“Hmm. You may be of assistance to me, Trix ‘N; Sips!” Beanie announced triumphantly.
“It’s just Trix—”
“I am in need of riches! Have you any ideas of how I could go about this?” Bean scratched the scales underneath his chin with a pointed finger. It made a weirdly satisfying sound. Trix thought distantly about what he would look like with painted nails.
“Oh! Well, I hope you’re not trying to find out how to rob my store…”
“Pshaw!” Bean waved a sharp, assuaging claw. “I am a noble kobold, I wouldn’t stoop to robbery.”
“Right, well… I do actually have an idea for you!”
“What is it? Tell me at once!” Bean said, hands on his hips.
“Calm down! Me and my friends do quests together, like in an adventuring party, and we get compensated for them! It’s not always money, but there’s always a reward!”
Bean brightened. “Interesting… How would I go about joining this adventuring party?”
“Well, you can just join! My friends won’t mind, and we’ve been wanting some more members.”
“Thank you, dear Trix! I shall join your party and bring everyone to glory and riches!”
He lifted up a clawed hand and Trix met him with a high five.
“Can the glorious Beanie help fix my broken roof?” Trix asked.
Beanie broke his neck looking up at the roof. “Um. Probably not. Sorry about that. I can probably pay for someone else to do it. Maybe.”
Trix shrugged. “Okay. That works.”
—
“Seriously? He crashed into your roof and you offered him to join our party?” Garth asked through his laughter.
Trix nodded. “Mhm! He seemed nice enough.”
“He said that you were worthy enough to bask in his presence. Who says stuff like that?”
“Someone who struggles with self-worth and overexaggerates their confidence to make up for it.” Trix said solemnly. “Or maybe it’s just a Beanie thing.”
Garth furrowed his brow. “I think it’s a Beanie thing?”
The man in question swivelled around. “Are you talking about me and my glory?”
“No, Beanie, just you!” Trix giggled.
Beanie scowled. “Not funny, cat! To talk about me, you must be talking about my glory too!”
But despite his ‘anger’, he fell back into step with them, climbing up Garth’s back and settling on his shoulders. “Now, onward, steed! We’ve got damsels to save!”
“People to help!” Trix corrected.
“And riches to gain!” Beanie yelled instead. “And to swim in them like rich ducks in a swimming pool!”
“What?” Garth asked.
Beanie sighed. “Someone out there will get that joke.”