Summoning Kobolds At Midnight: A Tale of Suburbia & Sorcery.

Trout's Landing.

"Well. So much for that idea." Jeb replied as he poured another bucket of slush onto the burnt remains of yet another still.

He ran out of ideas, and motivation, to cook the snail at the moment. So he figured some brewing might inspire him. Or something. So he also figured that maybe he could get away with using potatoes for mash and the bitter blues for sugar to avoid what happened last time he tried to distill liquor with the Eldritch candy he conjured. Admittedly it did at first. But he had to get impatient and may or may not have stoked the balefire a touch too much.

"And now I'm out two stills. Great." He muttered as he left the remains of the still for whoever nabbed it first. It was close enough to the burrows that some of the kobolds, if they were quick, could nab some of it and get back inside the den. Maybe the murlocs as well. But so far they seemed more interested in some of the shiney metal shrapnel than the wreck itself.

"Either way, shine is off the table." Jeb replied to himself. Looks like his peacemaking with the dwarves wasn't looking too good at the moment.

At this point he just called it quits. For now. While making peace with the dwarves was something he probably should do at some point in the nearer future. Today just wasn't going to be that day. Not with nothing to show for it other than a pile of snail and no hootch to force it down with.

"Eh, fuck it. Maybe the 'bolds will like it." He said and turned around and made for a pile of snow nearby.

At least the weather is keeping it preserved, he thought as he touched the snow covered carcass and teleported the cold clammy mound of spongy flesh down into the burrows. He was glad for the cold for at least freezing the slime so he didn't get plastered with the stuff. Again.

With a blink he was now underground and out of the cold and snow. Many reddish orange eyes stared back at him for a moment in curiosity before resuming their activities. He dragged the pile of mollusk meat over and out of the way while several of the tribe made their way over to investigate what he had brought down.

"Not entirely sure this thing's edible. But I figured-" Jeb paused as the kobolds, without caution, fear, or any sort of worry in the slightest, took their claws and crude daggers to the cold mound of meat.

Jeb watched as they carved away chunks of the snail as if they'd done it thousands of times.

"Y'all eat snail before?"

He got some nods of confirmation before they returned to their butchering.

"Not one of this size. But our old home would get plenty of snails out in the jungle and in the rivers and ocean."

"So just so I know what to get, and what not to get, what all was in your last home that you lot ate?"

The kobolds barely paused as they continued their work, some taking thick slabs of the snail meat and hanging it over a branch before roasting it over a fire. Others threw them onto flat rocks or pans near fire pits. Some more yet threw assorted chunks of the snail and other foodstuffs into a pot of river water and looked to be making a pot of stew. Hell, some just cut them up and ate them raw.

"Snakes. Fish. Shellfish. Monkeys." One started as he threw a slab onto what looked like the cast iron grill from his old BBQ.

"Birds. Lizards. Frogs. Eel. Leeches. Lampreys." Another said as she placed the pieces of spongy flesh into mason jars with some herbs, water, and apple slices.

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"Wild cats. Jungle rats. Insects. Turtles. Toads." Two others listed off as they put some thin slices into what looked like a crude smoker made of a former water heater.

"Crocs. Ocean sharks. River sharks. River beasts. Jungle fruit." Another listed as he and some others scrapped the slime from the flesh and into jars and bottles. For what Jeb could only take a guess.

"Oh! Those toothy plants too!" A kobold called out leading to others speaking up and adding dozens of what sounded like carnivorous plants to the list of edibles.

At this point Jeb got the idea. They weren't picky eaters. Especially if even half the stuff in their old home was anything like the stuff in the jungles here on Earth, they probably have a damn good tolerance for toxins and poisons.

"Croc meat smothered in honey pot nectar." One of the kobolds muttered with a sigh.

"Crispy frog skins." Another added.

"Will y'all shut it! You're makin' me hungry!" Jeb chided jokingly as he cast a glance at the sizzling slabs of snail on some rocks and pans.

It kinda had a fish smell to it, he thought before remembering what the texture felt like and suppressed a shudder as he imagined the feeling on his tongue or sliding down his throat.

"Gonna find me some squirrel."

With that, he left the tribe to their feasting and headed to where they kept their foodstuffs. Which was basically a hole in the wall with a mound of scrap in front of it to deter the salamanders from simply wandering in and eating their stores. Which didn't seem to deter them all that much by the many scratches and ruts dug around the mound from said salamanders trying to get in.

Fortunately, he wasn't a salamander. With a little footwork, and a shove or two, and he managed to nab about five squirrels from a crude crate. He grabbed a jug of water and headed over to one of the fires and began roasting the lil nutty rodents.

-----

Ruby was itchy. REALLY itchy! At first it was just a mild itch here and there that barely bothered her. But now she found herself scraping against anything that might alleviate the nuisance that was taking her focus away from her duty.

She let out a satisfied groan and sigh as she felt something peel away from her right shoulder. A quick glance revealed a translucent strip of scales. Huh, she thought as she stretched the free shoulder. Only now noticing how tight everything felt.

It feels like forever since she last shed, she thought as she squatted down and pressed her back against a particularly rough stone and dug into it. She both heard and felt the old skin peel and scrap away against the rock. The warmth of the fires contrasting with the slight breeze from down the tunnel felt soothing along the new scales.

She shuddered as she an especially lengthy bit of skin peeled away. She looked down and only just realized the changes to her scales. Where they appeared still a reddish color before, they were now almost seemingly black. A flicker of light revealing a crimson sheen across her scales revealing that they weren't completely black. The scales also had an edge to them like shark hide. Not as prominent as she's seen on the Chief or Trap Master. But enough that her scales were at least a modicum more protection than before.

"Need some help with that?" She heard Jeb's voice nearby.

She startled and turned to where he stood. In his hand was some still sizzling skewers of meat and a jug of water.

"Uhm."

"If that's anythin' like a sunburn, I bet it feels good peelin' it off." Jeb replied and sat the jug of water down and handed her a skewers before he stuck one into his mouth and sat down behind her.

She shuddered once more as she felt his warm hands against her fresh scales. Another one came as she felt him gently grab an edge of skin and pull gently away. Slowly. Slowly. So slow yet so satisfying as another strip of her body was freed from her former skin.

Before she knew it, her new skin was fresh and glistening like it had been polished. Nearby, a pile of her discarded skin now laid. She blinked her eyes and looked around as if she had just rinsed them. She thought it might've been fatigue from watching the eggs for so long. But it appeared it was just her body getting ready to shed.

"Feel better?" Jeb replied as he threw the now bare skewers off to the side.

"Much." She replied and leaned back against him.

She sighed as her new skin absorbed his warmth.

"Did you get anything done?"

"Kinda? Caught a snail. Big one. With crystals and rocks and stuff on its shell." Jeb replied and held her in his arms.

"Ooh, what kind of crystals?"

"Not sure. I'll give 'em to the Chief and see if he might know more about 'em."

She made to speak again when a yawn escaped her. It was then that she felt drained and tired. Jeb's warmth did nothing to help either as her body started to feel sore from all the scraping and scratching she did. She wasn't sure what she said. Or if she even said anything at all. All she knew was her eyes slowly blinking. Darkness lasting a little longer each time. Until finally, she had fallen asleep in Jeb's arms.

-----

Jeb rubbed his hand over the now glistening new scales of Ruby. There was a touch of friction like something was catching on his hand. But when he looked he didn't see anything at first glance. So he shrugged and held Ruby in his arms while stroking her scales. Guess she, and probably the others, are comfortable enough to shed, he thought. He sighed as Dougie rolled over and onto his feet with a shake of his chitinous hide and stared at the couple for a moment before his thin barbed black tongue lolled out and he started panting.

Jeb chuckled and tossed a squirrel he had kept just for him. His tongue shot out like a arrow and skewered the rodent meat. Dougie chomped down on the treat before padding over and laying beside him and Ruby. He sighed as his other hand rubbed against the oily chitin.

"Life sure has gotten strange huh boy?"

He glanced to the side as he heard a scraping sound and saw one of the salamanders wander in.

"Hey there fella. What'cha want?"

The salamander sniffed and flicked its forked tongue only to retreat when it got too near to Dougie. It wasn't deterred though, and continued to sniff around before coming to the pile of discarded shed skin.

"Yeah. Not sure wha-"

Before Jeb could even finish speaking, the salamander started devouring the shed skin! Jeb watched in silence with his mouth partially open. He wasn't sure if he should be shocked, appalled, sickened, or just not at all surprised anymore.

"Everythin' but the kitchen sink huh?"