Return to Speranza

What's changed in the city since the party last visited?

## Introducing the kobolds

Two ships full of kobolds has docked at Speranza city, and its crew are causing havoc with the city's portal system - plus they are here to party.

The kobold ships are called The Happy Ending and the Flying Dragon. The Flying Dragon got in first -it's a clipper ship, nearly 60m long, light and very fast. The Happy Ending came after - small, squat and bristling with cannons. The Flying Dragon docked at Banco's Landing and The Happy Ending docked at the Viaduct. Its crew pretty much immediately began 'storming' the various bars and watering holes of Luxy District (the purple line on the Cups District city map). It appears that the official ambassadorial party has a 'hanger-on' vessel looking for an excuse to trade, drink and get up to mischief after a long embargo away from Ladinh.

#### Basic physiology

Kobolds themselves are clearly related to goblins - they have the distinctive red hair, larger hands, prominent noses and brow ridges and of course the pointy ears. Kobold physiology is way more varied, however.

* Some are Janjarri sized with very skinny limbs, and hair that's extra frizzy.
* Some are the height of a Desh, with lots of bristling red body hair including furred backs and manes.
* The medium sized kobolds stand a little taller and straighter than their Ladinho counterparts, have long braided hair and distinctive scaled patterns where their eyebrows would be, and they also have larger eyeteeth, like fangs.

All the kobolds have a vague mineral tint to their skin, tough, metallic fingernails and strange grey teeth. There's a lot of variation in their eye colour, ranging from almost a Janjarri intensity of blue to a deep red. The longer a goblin family's spent in service to a Grand Dragon, the more extensive their transformation. It's pretty unusual to get a kobold who's also a Two - and the Grand Dragons keep these individuals confined to their brood nests.

#### Ranks and types of kobold

**Klabautermann:** Shipwrights, scouts and sailor-goblins. Kobold vessels can operate as galleys in an emergency. The smallest kobolds clamber in the rigging, the medium ones navigate by the sun, star and tides and the big ones man the capstan and deploy oars when there isn't a fair wind.

**Heinzelmann:** Chamberlains and attendants for the Grand Dragons and their households of lesser drakes. The smallest kobolds do menial tasks like feeding and caring for baby drakes or cleaning up after the Grand Dragons. The medium ones are advisors, scribes and go-betweens with Ros traders and other outside influences. The big ones guard the hatchlings and maintain infrastructure.

**Hoedekin:** literally means 'the ones wth the hats' in Goblin. Hoedekin can be scryers, mathematicians, test subjects or good luck charms. Hoedekin specialise in probability magic and illusion magic. They tend to have short and chaotic lifespans. The smallest can be ship mascots or magical cannon fodder; the medium sized ones are commonly used as spies or field scouts, usually under direct patronage from a Grand Dragon. The big ones can be beefed up to become extra terrifying soldiers - or suicide troops, usually charging into an enemy's position and then imploding in a storm of bad luck that affects everything in the vicinity.

#### Kobold names

Noting here tha kobold names are a real mix - the dragons have picked up various stray bands of goblins over the millennia and adopted them, incuding some recent 'boat people' out of Vestfal. Vestfalian goblin names will sound Danish or German: older names will sound Latvian, Rumansch or Latin-ish.

**Older examples:** Artyoms, Bendiks, Emils, Maksims, Miervaldis, Modris, Teodors, Valrys, Vilis / Alina, Ausma, Beate, Dzintara, Evgenia, Irusya, Lazda, Salvia, Solveig

**Newer examples:** Hanspeter, Helmuth, Joerg, Karol, Oliver, Ralf, Rihard, Sigismund / Alise, Anne-Lena, Esther, Greta, Guthrun, Irma

## Kobold consequences

**Run on the Banco:** Kobolds have come into Speranza, throwing around large gems as if they were petty change. This in turn has caused the local economy to go into chaos. Several merchants and public houses have closed their doors and their proprietors are trying to get into the Great Vault, the Banco's fortress at Banco Landing, to pay off their dwarven loans. On the other hand - several creditors are trying to get in and withdraw their deposits. It appears as though the Freatres (an Y'd gang) and Banco reps will be busy fending off the crowds for a while.

The Vault's double-tiered, triple towered structure sticks out even among all the wacky architecture, like a large, dusty wedding cake topper. Three gates mark entryways to the Banco for three distinct social groups. Swords services the leaders of mercenary companies and the Praetor's battlemagi, Staves is here adventuring companes go to submit receipts and claim expense payments, and Cups, the biggest gate, services the local Y'd and receives covered palanquins from Forterezza Speranza itself. The most decorative Fratres guards wear round-headed sallet helms with three plain white feathers: they're backed up by subtler Y'd lackeys with billy clubs.

**Fun with portals:** the city's portal system appears to get janky in proximity to kobolds and their magical influence. The portals can become nauseating or disorienting, and can eject people slightly 'off' from where they are supposed to be. Many of the locals who you'd previously seen on street duty (mostly burning or trimming plant growth in the Garden Mile) have stayed away. At some point the plant growth may get really out of control.

**Confused cops:** The Lictors are under severe strain trying to keep the peace in the fancier quarters of Speranza, and they've all but given up on the Purple and Green Lines. Praetor Forza-del-Destino (f) and Proctor Habeas-Corpus (m) would love any assistance offered to help steady thigns in the city - especially where it comes to easing tensions at the Banco. It's a real worry for both the Inner Court and the Cups District's wider administration.

#### The Happy Ending

The privateer ship The Happy Endingis moored at the VIaduct in Speranza, adjoining Luxy District. The party's met some of the crew, including the Hoedekin figurehead "Lucky", and a couple of sturdy Klabautermann called Modris and Valrys.

The captain of The Happy Ending is a thick-armed, scarred blue kobold called Solveig. She's fond of collecting blue and gold trinkets and dresses in a whole mix of finery - she wears an embroidered summer parka at sea, but on land she's usually wearing huge pluderhosen, a sparkly belly dancer's bra, several silk sashes and an enormous tricorne hat. She wears several strings of pearls (one of the few currency items that's still worth a lot even in Spitzbergen).

'Lucky' has given Yuri a one-off blessing (+1 forward to save an unlucky roll) in return for getting him out of his post at the ship's bow (and in return for a nice toke of weed). The Happy Ending crew will always be on the lookout to make deals with new friends...

### Meeting the kobold delegation

The Flying Dragon is the ship that brought the more official kobold delegation to Speranza.

The captain of this particular delegation is called Goldemar (M). His official Dragon title is Aurum; he's a medium sized but tall kobold with reddish skin and bold red facial scales, and his eyes glow golden, with a goat-like hourglass pupil. Goldemar prefers to dress very neatly in deceptively expensive, but understated layered tunics with a high Mandarin collar. He also wears neat black fingerless gloves at all times. Goldemar's apprentice, titled Pyrite, is named Staschia (F) - she's a bit shorter, with brassy tones and wears her hair in pigtail braids that are just a tiny bit asymmetrical. Staschia has the bright, almost Janjarri-like blue to her eyes. She has a tendency to 'hoard' clothes and will wear an eclectic mix of garments with lots of cute accessories. When the party meets her she'll be wearing a hooded, sleeveless tunic in heavy white cotton, embroidered with blue bands and hemmed with lots of odd little charms and animal parts.

This particular delegation represents the Grand Dragon Esfandiar Otesh-Theshanni. Esfandiar is one of a few Grand Dragons who are based out of Spitzbergen (Otesh-Theshann being its rather complicated draconic name), but they apparently have enough authority to speak on behalf of the Spitzbergen broods. Esfandiar was around for the original signing of the Desh Armistice, and they're interested in renegotiating the terms of the agreement. Due to the ban on dragon travel around Ladinh, Esfandiar has thought of a possible neutral place where negotiations could take place. This is the disputed archipelago of Cheri - currently in a three way diplomatic deadlock between Ningalu, del Flor and Vilaverde, so currently in an existential loophole as regards being/not being part of Ladinh. It also has a handsome active volcano, which the Grand Dragons rather enjoy. It's likely that Esfandiar plans to refuel there and enjoy a bit of tropical sightseeing. The kobolds are here to deliver this invitation to talk terms. Goldemar warns the party that it's better to travel to the location and "enjoy the sights" while waiting - Grand Dragons are not known for being punctual with their manifestations.