This should've been an easy mission. Saltzpyre knew it should've been easy. Oh how wrong he was. He was lying down, staring up at the sky, registering what just happened. "By the hammer..."

He got up and put his hat back on after seeing where he landed. The rat ogre had punched him across the temple floor to the other side.

"Aaaaah! Come on Rakogri! I've got- OW!" Bardin, without his handgun, had resorted to go into melee with the rat ogre but being a dwarf, he was thrown into a wall like a brick next to Saltzpyre.

Sienna lobbed a fireball at it, singeing its fur a bit. The rat ogre roared before an arrow impaled the side of its face. It then turned its attention to Kerillian, who was trying to knock another arrow.

"Mayflies, a little help!?" Kerillian yelled while backing away to a better vantage point and to avoid the rat ogre's ire.

"Auuuugh...coming, Wutelgi!" Bardin yelled back after slowly climbing out of the hole he made in the wall. Saltzpyre took this moment of reprieve to bind Bardin's wounds. "You will not die this day, dwarf!"

While Saltpyre and Bardin were recovering, Sienna and Kerillian kept the rat ogre busy. Dodging each consecutive strike from the rat ogre while whittling it down with fire and arrows. However, the rat ogre was tireless and Sienna was not.

"Darlings! I need help over here!" The rat ogre kept smashing at her, not letting up the pressure but she blocked its next attack with her sword, knocking her down. "Augh!"

"Sienna!" Kerillian yelled, firing more arrows into the rat ogre's back but it completely ignored her, focusing on the downed Sienna.

The rat ogre then swung his right arm to knock Sienna's sword to the side before raising both fists, ready to smash her into the ground. "Well...shit." Sienna said to herself as she closed her eyes, waiting for her end.

"Rrrrrraaaa-!"
*THUD*

Sienna held her breath waiting for the strike...but it never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw a little red creature holding a stolen skaven halberd, standing between her and the rat ogre, holding its fists and stopping it in its tracks. "Eeeeeeee!" The creature strained against the rat ogre.

"What in the...?" Sienna said, unsure of what to make of the situation. The creature looked like a small horned beastman but the floppy ears threw her observation off.

"Eeeeaaaaa!" The little horned creature then slashed and punched the rat ogre's chest with surprisingly immense strength, sending it crashing into a pile of rubble. "Yip haa!" The little creature said while pumping her fist.

"Such power!" Sienna said in shock. "What in Lileath was that!?" Kerillian yelled after seeing the little creature punch the much larger rat ogre away.

"What foul abomination is that?!" Saltzpyre asked with confusion. "Aye that little thing is giving the rakogri a good kicking!" Bardin commented after binding the last of his wounds.

The rat ogre got up from the rubble, with a long gash on its chest, to roar at the little creature, trying to intimidate it. "Rrrraaaaaaaaah!" The air itself seemed to shake in its presence but the little creature seemed unphased.

The creature's eyes then turned a malicious red, as she took a deep breath, slammed the halberd into the ground...and roared back. "GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The very ground cracked and shook beneath everyone's feet as the rat ogre actually felt shaken from the small but mighty creature's roar.

Seeing that the situation was stacked against it, the rat ogre, ears down in fear, turned around and fled the scene, leaving the team alone. "By the hammer...we are victorious!" Saltzpyre said, still in shock at what he had witnessed.

"Ehehe! Mighty smolll!" The little creature put its hands to its hips in triumph.

"Did...did it just talk?" Saltzpyre said. Sienna took the time to hug her little saviour. "Heheh, mighty small indeed."

"Hehehehe! Hoomaaaaan!" The little creature then happily hugged Sienna back while wagging her tail.

*rustle*

"Hm?" Kerillian turned her attention to some bushes rustling next to her, before knocking an arrow towards that direction. "Ngih! Wah!" Another of the little red creatures came tumbling out of the bushes, lo and behold with a handgun in its hands. "Thoond?" The little creature asked.

Kerillian stopped before she could fire, inspecting the little creature. It stood back up while holding the handgun to the side. She realised the one she was looking at had a darker shade of red than the other one. "Hey! It's mah thrund!" Bardin remarked.

"Hehe! Thoooond!" The little creature presented the handgun to Bardin as he came over and retrieved it. Another one of the creatures, this one was a crimson colour and smaller. slowly revealed itself behind the bigger one. "Mmm...h-hawoo."

"Huh, these little younglings are popping out of nowhere. They seem friendly though." Bardin commented while holding his hand out in greeting. Slowly the small crimson baby moved from the bigger one and plopped its head on Bardin's hand while cooing in comfort. "Mmmrrroooo..."

"Hahahaha, that's right, little one. Bardin ain't gonna hurt ya." Bardin said while squishing the baby's face. "Hold it! Are we not going to question that these things are in fact, babies!?" Saltzpyre asked.

"Well it seems they can talk Grimgi. I'd trust these little things more than the raki. What's your name, little dawri?" Bardin asked the creatures. The bigger one answered first. "I am Eenie!"

"Eenie, huh? Well nice to meet ya. I'm Bardin, Bardin Goreksson, and what about you littler dawri?" Bardin asked the smaller one leaning his head on his hand. "M-moe." Moe shyly answered.

"Really? So what's your name then little darling?" Sienna asked the one in her arms. "Ehehehe! Am Minieee!" Minie happily said. "Aaaaww, you have such an adorable name!~" Sienna remarked before hugging her again.

"So they do have names...I've never seen anything like them." Kerillian commented.

"We are kobolds!" Eenie replied with as close to perfect speech that he could muster. "Kobolds huh? Hm...never heard of em." Bardin replied, still scratching his head.

Bardin kept playing with Moe's face with his other hand. The other kobolds were also given the same treatment by Sienna, Kerillian on the other hand was keeping an eye on their surroundings.

With nothing amiss, Kerillian gave a simple hand gesture to the others that it was safe but to be vigilant. Bardin starts repairing his handgun and oiling the outside of the barrel, covered in soot and grime from Eenie's constant use.

"What yoo doing?" Minie asked the stout dwarf, who seemed very keen on cleaning his handgun. "Cleanin' dawri. Mah weapon is a part of me, keepin it clean is something one must do as a dawi. It's important." Bardin simply explained, but to the mini barbarian it was as if he was passing knowledge to the young baby.

While everyone was doing their own thing, Saltzpyre kept an eye on the babies. He still didn't trust them like the others quickly did, that's when he turned to Moe and saw him covering his snout. "Hm?"

"Ah..." Moe had his mouth open in a sharp breath before simmering it back down but then it picked back up again. "Ah...!"

"Uh...what's wrong with him?" Saltzpyre asked the team. "Moe?" Minie asked her little sibling. "Aaaaaaah...!" Moe's breathing got a little louder and Eenie realised what was happening. "Ah! He about to sneeeeeze!" He said frantically covering his ears.

"Err, what does that mean?" Sienna asked. Bardin finished cleaning his handgun to hear the commotion next to him as everyone gathered around Moe in concern.

"Hang on...the weave...it's getting stronger!" Kerillian said, realising that Moe was the source. "AAA-CHOOOOOO!" A burst of light and magic then engulfed everyone...and they all disappeared.

Meanwhile...

"Mmmm-mmm..." Mel was finally awake and calm, happily suckling on Kruber's thumb. "Yea, yea, enjoy while it lasts, alright?" Kruber said in mild annoyance.

Suddenly, the waystone came to life as the bridge of shadows activated. "The bridge of shadows! It's working again!" Olesya said with a start. Mel woke up to see what was going on.

As the light from the waystone dissipated, the rest of the Ubersreik five reappeared. "Well, glad to see you're all back in one- piece...?" Kruber took a pause as he took a bit of time to process the scene in front of him.

"Mmmmmgh..." Laying face first on the ground was Saltzpyre with another kobold sitting on top of him. "Uh...Saltzpyre?" Kruber asked. Mel realised who was sitting on top of the witch hunter. "*Gasp* Moooooe!" He said happily.

"Ulurghlurghlurgh! Oh that was amazing! Can we do that again?" Bardin asked after shaking himself off while stroking his beard back into shape. "Mhm mhm mhmm." A voice said somewhere in Bardin's beard.

"Ho?" Bardin then rummaged through his beard to pull Minie out of it. "Ehehehe! Again! Again!" This gave Bardin a chuckle as he petted Minie. "Hahaha! There ye are little dawri!"

Eenie had ended up safely in Sienna's arms. "Aw don't worry darling, I've got you." The battle wizard said. "Eheaaa!" Eenie squealed happily in her arms. Kerillian was better off compared to Saltzpyre, only ending up in a sitting position. "Well, now that that's out of the way, mind telling us what these little 'kobolds' were doing at the temple, and why is Kruber holding another one himself?" The wood elf asked.

"I was just getting to that." Olesya said, walking past the Ubersreik five to inspect the waystone that contained the shadow magic needed to power the bridge of shadows. "Hmm, yes, yes...the bridge of shadows is working again...but Athel Yenlui's waystone is inactive." Olesya mentioned.

"So if it was still down, then how'd y'all get back?" Kruber asked. Kerillian then carried Moe off of Saltzpyre's back. "I believe this little thing was the answer."

*Baaaaaaaaarp*

"Ehehehe..." Moe sheepishly giggled as he let out a long burp. Kruber looked at her in confusion as Kerillian held Moe in front of her. "Why? What'd he do?" He asked. All the while Moe had tucked his legs to try and wiggle out of Kerillian's grasp, entwining his tail with her arm for purchase. "Hey! Hold still."

"Eheeeaaaa!" Moe managed to slip out of her grasp before catching himself by hanging upside down from her still raised arm with his tail. "Heheheeee, waaaaah!"

"Looks like he's having fun with ya, Wutelgi." Bardin said with a chuckle. Kerillian just gave up and let Moe hang on her arm like a branch. "Ugh, forget it. I don't know Kruber. It's like he...summoned the bridge of shadows on himself somehow." Moe continued to squeal happily while listening to Kerillian's discussion with Kruber.

"That's because he may have done exactly that. Little Moe here seems to have absorbed the magic from the waystone, thus giving him this power." Olesya explained. Just as she mentioned it, Moe suddenly blipped out of existence, surprising nearly everyone but Olesya. "W-where did he go!?" Kerillian asked.

"Hehehe! Yah, yah, yaaaaah!" Moe was yipping triumphantly above them on a support beam. "Hey look, dawri! He can do it himself." Bardin exclaimed. Moe then teleported to another ledge, again and again until he eventually teleported back down.

"Or...he could always just do it..." Olesya said, trying to rethink her conclusion. Eenie then shook head. Normally the bridge of shadows creates a dome of shadow magic that could teleport everyone inside, but Moe could teleport quickly on his own. Even she couldn't figure Moe's power out. "Alright then, what did you see the other kobolds do?" Olesya asked.

The team thought about it for a second before answering. "Well Minie here is very very strong. Strong enough that she could go toe to toe with a rakogri." Bardin remarked.

"And Eenie seems really good at using a handgun. Not much else to say about that." Sienna said. Eenie meanwhile wiggled about in her arms, while chanting about weapons. "He! He! Ha! Weapaaaaans!"

"Yea well...Mel hasn't really proven anything. He's very clingy though." Kruber commented, which only made Mel squish himself further into Kruber's embrace. "Mmmmm..."

"I would not trust these little creatures so quickly. For all we know, they could be acting this way so that we are complacent." Saltzpyre reasoned. Eenie and Minie looked at the witch hunter with a bit of disdain at his comment. Moe seemed to completely ignore it as he teleported back into Kerillian's arms, safe and sound. "Mmmaaaaa..."

"No, Saltzpyre. Their innocence is genuine. I have checked. The memories of a child are the most honest thing in this world at the moment. Gullible but innocent and kind." Olesya countered. This had the effect of Mel feeling slightly insulted, sitting up to look at Olesya with an annoyed look before going back to angrily hug Kruber. "Am not galliboo..."

"Hahaha! I think he heard that one Olesya." Bardin cackled, slapping his knee while Minie laughed with him, falling on her back while holding her stomach. "Heheheaaahahaaa!"

"I'll be the judge of that Olesya. If they dare turn against us, I will not hesitate to put a shot into every one of them." This had the unintended effect of scaring the babies. Kruber held Mel as he whined at Saltzpyre's comment. "Aw come on, Mel. I won't let that happen. Agh damn it, what is wrong with me?"

Eenie then hissed at Saltzpyre in a threatening way while burrowing himself deeper into Sienna's embrace. "Haha, careful Saltzpyre, I think they can hear you, wouldn't want them smothering you with a pillow at night now would we?" Sienna jokingly said. Minie, being neutral, backed up to hide in Bardin's beard.

"Well if Moe's powers seem so great why not ask the other babies if he could always do it?" Kerillian suggested, turning to Eenie as he calmed down. To answer her question, Eenie shook his head side to side in quick succession. "No?" Kerillian asked.

"No, not before. Can now." Eenie said. "So Moe couldn't do it before...but Eenie claims he could do it now. I think I understand what happened." Olesya said.

"What?" Everyone said. Even Minie peeked out from Bardin's beard to hear Olesya's explanation. "Simple, it seems that Moe's magic was dormant, which means he could never use it no matter how hard he tried, absorbing the magic from the bridge of shadows must have awakened his magical potential. Hence, why now he can teleport. I'm curious to see what other powers these kobolds have."

After Olesya's explanation, everyone looked at Moe with a bit of surprise. Lohner was listening the whole time, as interesting as all this was, it was getting late and the sun was already setting. "Well, now that we know about our little friends and their magical potential, how about we welcome our new guests? It's fish and herbs tonight so-"

*Thud...*
*THUD*

Everyone turned their attention to a few barrels that rolled into view. "Err, Lohner...aren't those the fish barrels?" Kruber asked with a bit of suspicion. "Hm, I'm pretty sure barrels don't move on their own." Lohner commented.

One particular barrel continued to move back and forth, as if something was trying to break free. Saltzpyre pointed his pistol towards the barrel in paranoia while Lohner calmly but curiously moved towards the shaking barrel.

"MM!" Another kobold, this time purple, burst out of the barrel along with the fish inside, sliding to a halt on the ground in front of Lohner with a fish in its mouth. "Mmmm! Mmmmmm!" The kobold in question was currently fighting with a still living fish, kicking it with both legs like a cat.

*Gasp*

"Odiiiiii!" Mel yelled happily. Odi stopped fighting with the fish for a few seconds to hear and turn towards the direction of Mel's voice. However, the fish took this moment of distraction to flop around in Odi's mouth to slap him in the face, causing him to let go.

*SLAP* "Ah!" The fish then flopped around for a bit before finding its way into the river that flowed through the side of the keep, escaping Odi's grasp.

"Mmmm! Waaaaa! ...Mm?" Odi briefly yelled in frustration before looking up to see Lohner staring down at him with a calm look, as if he was used to intruders getting into his fish supply. "Ehehehe..." Odi laughed sheepishly.

"Alright, come here you." Lohner said as he picked up their latest guest and placed him in his apron pocket. They now had five of the eleven kobolds. "Seems like someone was going through my fish supply." Lohner commented as he came back with Odi. Saltzpyre lowered his gun as everyone else began to laugh except for him.

These kobolds were a mystery to him but if the others were willing to get along with them, then maybe he should be more flexible about his way of thinking. After all, he had been open about Sienna's heretical magic and Kerillian's presence, surely the kobolds wouldn't be any different...right?

Later...

The kobolds all gathered around a campfire as they all talked about their adventures since their arrival to this strange new world. Eenie, being the oldest of the group, was cooking the fish over the fire while listening to the stories.

Meanwhile Kruber sat with them, trying to get to know the other babies. "Right so I know Mel and Odi, you're Eenie? The oldest?" Kruber asked, able to tell Mel and Odi apart because they were yellow and purple respectively.

Eenie nodded happily. "Mhm hm! Am Eenie." He replied, serving everyone their fish. "Well you certainly act like the oldest. And you're Minie?"

"Aha. Minie!" Minie raised her hand in confirmation. "And you're Moe?" Kruber asked, pointing to the crimson-bold. "Moe! Moe! Moooooe!" Now that Kruber knew each of their names, he could tell that all three siblings had some distinctions between them.

Eenie was big, no doubt about it but he also had the darkest red scales of the trio, like a ruby. Minie on the other hand was scarlet in colour with smaller horns compared to Eenie's and Moe was the smallest and crimson in colour. "Well nice to meet y'all, names Markus Kruber or Kruber for short."

"Kruu...kruba?" Eenie asked.
"Kuuu...kuba!" Minie said confidently.
"Kubaaaa!" Moe yipped happily.

While Kruber played 'spot the difference with the trio', Mel and Odi were talking to each other. "Kewa?" Mel asked, still wondering where his older sister was. Odi simply shook his head in sadness.

"Mmmmm..." Mel whimpered in grief, Odi then hugged Mel to comfort him. Kruber, curious as to why Mel was so obsessed with his sister, decided to ask him. "This...Kewa, your sister right? She must really mean a lot to you."

"Mmmm..." Mel nodded. "Too bebies, one sol!" Odi added. Kruber then pet both of their heads. "I think I get it. Kewa is your other half...I'm sure I'd miss someone like that if I was in your shoes too little fella." He sympathised, Mel let Kruber comfort him as the baby moved to sit on his lap. "Thanku Kuba..." Mel said gratefully.

Kruber simply let him stay there. "Heh, anytime..." The others were eating and watching the babies from a table. "Aren't they just adorable?" Sienna said. "Aye Zharrin, they're like wee little dawi, small but tough. Can't believe I'd say that about another race, though I think Kruber is gonna have his hands full." Bardin remarked.

"They are...unique in their own ways. I'll give them that." Kerillian commented. "They just seem so...unnatural." Saltzpyre added. He still didn't seem to understand why they were willing to help them.

"Aye Grimgi, but some of em are scared cause their loved ones are still out there, alone. I know kin when I see it and they're so tightly knit