Once there was a proud knight who wandered the lands.  He had the most splendiferous armor you could ever hope to see.  The golden rays of the sun shined even more golden off his highly polished mail.  His sword was equally impressive, an intricate work of smithing, finely detailed and inlaid with gems and gold.  The blade kept so sharp you could split a hair upon it.  Truly, he was a shining example of knighthood.

 He wandered the lands, not so much in search of wrongs to right, but rather in search of the awe and praise he got from the common folk at his highly polished mail and blade.  He spent most of his time keeping his shiny things shiny instead of practicing his skill with the blade.  The glory of being a knight meant much more to him than the actual code of the knight; the use of strength to protect the downtrodden.

 It so happened that he wandered into Undine one day.  We all know how the guards in Undine feel about showing ones arms about.  Of all the places in Temuair to flash fancy weaponry, Loures is the last place one would do so.  But this knight's armor was so awe-inspiring, that the Loures guards offered him a way around the usual penalties for such arrogance.

 It seems a visiting Loures child had been abducted by the Kobolds of Astrid for their Caroun.  The knight surely seemed like the whole hordes of Astrid could not stand in his way.  Were he to save this child, the knight would avoid the jail time normally prescribed for brandishing weapons within Undine.

 Being full of pride and over brimming with confidence, the knight set off for Astrid, thinking the entire Kobold race would surely shrink before his magnificence.  He merrily hummed a tune as he entered the plains, assured that the common monster must surely suffer twice the awe in his presence as the common folk.  As the saying goes, however, pride goeth before a fall.

 Kobolds and Goblins, however, respect strength more than shine.  With only the glint off his armor and winning smile to defend him, the knight was truly ill-equipped.  It was not long as all before the knight found himself tied and bound next to the child, with snickering bands of Kobolds and Goblins sneering at him.

 Luckily for all involved, another warrior happened upon this scene.  Just a simple warrior, not a high knight.  He was not fancily clad, nor well armed.  A simple shirt and dirk were his only arms.  Yet he had a far better weapon as his disposal... His mind.

 Donning a wolf skin as the Shamans of Astrid do, the simple warrior wandered with impunity up to the captives and the merry captors.  Quickly plotting, he stuck with his words rather than his dirk.  He inquired of the Kobolds which weak and puny human was to be sacrificed to their goddess.

 The shamans replied, "The child, of course, for their flesh is sweetest!"

 The goblins were then asked, "Will the mighty Goblin horde settle for lesser mansflesh to fuel their fury?"

 The Goblins pondered for a bit, then furrowed their brows..

 "No!  The Goblin horde makes the captures possible!  Our strength!  We deserve the finest of flesh!  The weak Kobold god can settle for this pompous fool who cannot swing his sword so well as shine it!"

 "Arpina is no weak!" replied the Kobolds present.

 Soon, as is the way with races that live by warfare, a mighty melee erupted.  The wolf skin clad warrior took advantage of the situation and used his simple dirk to cut the binds of both captives and led them to safety.

 The pompous gilded warrior learned a valuable lesson that day:

 The sharpness of your steel is not as important as the sharpness of your wit.