Just to show that I’m actually working on this for the Baen contest thing.
You could tell right away that this kobold was civilized; he was wearing glasses and his hair was clean. Cleaner than a lot of people in the tavern, but most paid him no mind. Believe it or not, most people go to taverns to drink, not brawl.
And the few assholes who might have felt rambunctious about one of them popping in, just like they were people or something? Well, that was probably what the kobold’s two guards were for. That’s the other way you could tell the kobold was civilized.
It didn’t surprise me that he came up to my table. Kobold, human, orc, elf, shark-man, bug-lord: they all act the same when they’ve got a job needing the sweet caress of an adventurer. And I was the highest-rated one drinking at the Fair Share right then. You always start from the top when you’re looking from freelancers. There’s no shame in being told ‘no’ and sometimes you get lucky.