Tag the Kobold: Talisman

    For weeks, Taggart had accidentally fired water blasts from his fingers when pointing at something or someone. The red and yellow kobold tried to avoid indicating with his fingers, but it wasn’t easy since he worked a sales job. Tag accidentally tried wearing mittens to stop the people from drowning, but that only partially nullified the projectiles. He kept his hands in his pockets, leaving the kobold with wet pants and weird looks. With no time to be trained by a proper tutor, Taggart needed to do his magical research in the library between studying for classes and working in the tailoring shop.

    After checking out several books that combined weighed more than the kobold, he set to work to fix his accidental casting problem. Several hours of reading and note-taking led Tag to one conclusion: he needed a talisman of some sort to focus his power. He had known about these magical foci but needed to learn how to make or find one. The shop owner he managed had a sewing kit that worked as his talisman, while the guild intern had a mildly unsettling talking penguin as hers. Taggart wasn’t one for pets; most were larger than him, so that wasn’t an option. It would need to be some object of power. As the kobold looked away from the tomes, he spotted the Western romance paperback he had been reading and got an idea.

    Tag’s boss was happy to help craft a talisman for the kobold. A month later, a bag arrived in the dorm room by raven courier. Tag quickly unwrapped the contents to reveal a pair of brown leather gun holsters with gold stitching and a matching belt to wear. Emblazoned on each holster was a word of power. “Rain” on the right and “Fury” on the left granted the magic needed for the talisman to work correctly. Strapping his new talisman on, Taggart was eager to practice controlling his powers. 

    Carefully, the kobold set up some empty cans he pulled out of the garbage along the back of the guild inn. Counting out fifty paces, Taggart stopped and turned toward the cans with his hands in the holsters. Breathing in slowly, the crimson and yellow pulled his hands out and lined up his hands, making a gun-like sign. Exhaling, Tag simulated the firing of a revolver with each hand, causing a blast of water to fly from each finger and drench the wall behind the recycled targets. Focusing again, the kobold shopkeeper fired off shots of water till he eventually hit a can. Holstering then redrawing his hands, Taggart tried to fire again, only to find he couldn’t. 

    Happy that the talisman worked correctly, the new water gunslinger collected the empty cans for target practice again. After work and between classes and weeks of practicing, Tag’s accuracy increased to eighty-two percent when firing like a revolver. With some practice, the kobold found he could adjust his grip to different types of guns and fire rapidly like an assault rifle or with a spread shot like a shotgun.