Nikola didn't know what to expect when they reached the kobold's warren. The plump cat who had been guiding them stopped before a cave's entrance and refused to budge.
"I guess we are on our own," Dimitri murmured, as he took out a flashlight and headed inside the cave.
"I hope we don't insult them," Nikola, for one, didn't know the first thing about kobolds.
The only thing he was certain of was, that they were dragon kin. Just like how the demon had told him.
"We can always say we're sorry," Dimitri told him, as he spotted a light deep in the cave. "Do you think we should wait for them to notice us?"
Nikola shook his head.
"They might think we are robbers, if we don't announce ourselves."
Which was a perfectly good argument, considering the kobolds were creatures, and thus probably able to fight.
Dimitri cleared his throat. Then he looked at the light in the far corner.
If this was a cooking pit, so deeply in the cave, then the kobolds were either resistant to the smoke or more dragons than anything else.
"Hello! My name is Dimitri. My husband and I are here to offer you a job!"
For a split second, nothing happened. Then, one kobold, for the miniature dragon could be nothing else, waddled towards them.
The being had glasses on and a respectable white beard. It was already calling up its system's screen.
"What kind of job?" The kobold asked. Nikola felt so, as if he was being probed with mana. He tried to relax.
"A mining gig! We have a mine full of mana stones. If you agree to mine them for us, then you get a 25% share!"
It was risky. Nikola had no idea how much would be enough for the kobolds. But seeing as he would need to haggle, he started off from a low number.
"Are there gems inside?" The creature asked, as it closed the distance between itself and the humans.
"We haven't found any yet," Nikola said, as he scratched himself behind the head. "But if you wish, you can keep 50% of all found gems. What do you need them for, anyway?"
It was not like Nikola could profit too much from the gems. His main trade was the mana stones. There was nothing wrong with him getting rid of a couple.
"We eat them. Ok, here's the deal. If we find a gem, we turn it into food. You can keep the mana stones. How many miners do you need?"
Both Nikola and Dimitri smiled.
"All of you. The mine is huge!" Nikola said, as he took Dimitri's hand in his. He was ready to start jumping from joy, but he didn't want to show his happiness so clearly to the kobold.
"You do realize that there is an entire underground city beneath this cave, don't you?" The creature asked slowly. "I doubt that your mine is big enough. Nor that its gem harvest could sustain the entire town."
Nikola bowed his head. His smile fading.
"I'm sorry. The truth is, we know little of your ways," the brunette murmured. "But we would like to learn!"
It was the kobold's turn to blink. He waved them over.
"Then you must visit the town!"
And so, the two husbands followed the kobold towards the light.
****
The houses were white like freshly fallen snow. Nikola had been on a vacation in Greece more than once. The kobold village would have fitted right in that country.
The plaza, where they were supposed to make their case, was spotless. The chairs looked worn down.
That told Nikola a lot about these creatures.
As soon as he was before the podium, he began to try to say his offer.
But he had not come in here expecting a lovely white town and beings, who were looking at him with an intelligent gaze. His palms began to sweat.
"We…" Nikola began, as he tried to muster up some courage. "We need miners for a mana stone mine."
The kobolds said nothing. A child coughed in her hand.
"If you find gems, we will let you keep them," Nikola continued, for he knew that soon, he was going to lose the crowd. "And if you don't find any gems, we will buy them for you! You won't go hungry!"
Nikola took in another deep breath. He bowed to the kobolds.
"Please. The mine can be the catalyst of change. The mana stones have already powered up the lights in the Black Market. An anti-coffin birth rune was already created thanks to them. We know that if we mine the mana stones, we can do some good!"
"This one is honest," Nikola heard a kobold say, as the creature took something that looked like a truth pendant from around its neck. "I like him!"
"Philip, you like all humans," a plumb kobold said next to him. "But what is the mine's condition? Is it aired out often? Do you use explosives to get to the mana stones? Are there even gems inside?"
The kobold with the truth pendant looked at Nikola.
"Well, you heard the lady. Care to answer?"
"The mine was mined by goblins, who made sure that it was supported with only the best of metal and lumber," Nikola began, glad that he had listened to more than one report back when the goblins still worked the mine. "And I have the full intention of keeping up with this trend!"
Nikola didn't dare raise his head. He began to blink when some kobolds began to stand up and go to a bowl.
"What? Did I fail?" Nikola murmured. The old kobold decided to answer.
"They will vote. Surely, you didn't expect them to just agree, did you?"
Nikola nodded. He felt shame for his lack of knowledge.
"Are there any books I can read about kobold culture?" The brunette said.
"Books? You can speak with us directly! Just look at the golden bowl! It is spilling stones!"
Nikola beamed at that. Waiting for the voting to be done and over with.