The Cabal of Wander-Wishers

The Cabal of Wander-Wishers is a group of traveling kobolds with a knack for getting themselves into and out of seemingly impossible situations. They also maintain a magical tapestry of kobold lore, history, and stories. The Cabal always travels with no particular goal in mind, simply going where they believe they ought to be.

Most Notable Members

Dame Ziri the Dragonheart

Art by Snejkha

A powerful Fighter and the one most recently designated to personally tend to the tapestry. Ziri is the unofficial leader of the cabal, and although she doesn’t enjoy making decisions on behalf of other people, she takes the fact that the others look up to her very seriously. Ziri is the one who leads the Opening Roar ceremony for new members of the cabal. Before this ceremony, she always takes time to speak to new members and ask them what sentiment they want their roar to carry. Ziri doesn’t worship dragons, though she thinks dragons who channel their power into great deeds ought to be looked up to. She holds great reverence for Bahamut and often joins Dusty when he prays to the Platinum Dragon.

When Ziri first came to Oasis, it was with the burden of carrying on without the rest of her cabal, as they had been stolen away in their sleep when they traveled into the Feywild. Part of Ziri’s original purpose in staying at the Oasis was to have a place to rest while she searched for her family. Some time after her arrival with the other adventurers, Ziri seemingly disappeared from the Oasis, only to return some time later with the rest of the cabal in tow. The story of the cabal’s disappearance wasn’t anything unusual by their standards: they got caught up mediating disputes for a group of Fairy Dragons, and their disputes were plentiful.

After a spar with Clem went horribly wrong, Ziri temporarily lost her roar, though the kind and wondrous cherry blossom dragon Sakura gave her enough encouragement to rediscover her kobold pride. Ziri was devastated by Sakura’s death, and briefly considered becoming a true dragon in order to properly carry on her legacy, but eventually decided Sakura wouldn’t want her to lose sight of who she is. In remembrance of Sakura, whatever sword Ziri is using always has a cherry blossom design engraved into the hilt.

Dusty

The resident head Cleric for the Cabal of Wander-Wishers and Ziri’s life partner. Dusty’s egg was discovered outside of a cave by kind clerics who took it with them for protection. As a result, Dusty grew up in the Church of Bahamut. To the surprise of those who know him now, as a small kobold, he was incredibly rambunctious and had little patience for rules or worship. However, Dusty’s primary caretaker, a priestess named Nylessa grew ill, though she did her best to hide it from him. One day, when Dusty ran off during a terrible storm, Nylessa went out to find him. Dusty was eventually found and brought back, but Nylessa had apparently succumbed to her sickness in the field. During her funeral, Dusty sobbed and swore to finally take Nylessa’s lessons to heart. Whether it was true or not, they felt as though the other clerics in the church would always resent them for what happened. When the Cabal of Wander-Wishers visited the church to seek aid for those who had been wounded in a skirmish, Dusty was one of the only clerics available, and they did their best to help. Ziri was the one who offered Dusty the chance to travel with them, noting that they seemed happy but “confined”. They agreed, but not before making sure Nylessa’s old dragon tooth necklace was tucked safely in their cloak. Ever since that day, Dusty has happily spent their time patching up other kobolds, investigating the immense amounts of lore within the tapestry, and scolding Thunda and Zap! for their recklessness.

Thunda & Zap!

Thunda and Zap! are a Fighter and Rogue pair who somehow manage to get into the most trouble out of everyone in the cabal. The two of them hatched at the same time inside a tavern in the shifty end of a big city. Though their emergence startled the barkeep, a grizzled dragonborn veteran named Oswald, he couldn’t find it in his heart to kick them onto the street. Thunda, technically the older of the two, constantly bothered Oswald to tell her more about all the sword-and-shield fighting he did in his younger days. Zap!, meanwhile, enjoyed working on his hiding skills by scaring patrons, often leading to spilled drinks and him having to make quick getaways. After a few years of relative peace (amidst Thunda and Zap!’s shenanigans), old acquaintances looking to collect on debts came looking for Oswald and broke his leg. It was almost shocking just how good of a job Thunda and Zap! did when it came to picking up the slack while Oswald recovered. They did so well that Oswald rebranded the bar, naming it the Kobold’s Legacy in their honor. However, those old acquaintances came back, and went so far as to threaten both Thunda and Zap!. Although the two kobolds said they were more than prepared for a fight, Oswald didn’t want to endanger them. One day, the dragonborn simply disappeared, as did the people from his past. Thunda and Zap! searched for him, but weren’t able to turn anything up. Multiple smaller businesses were going under in the city at this point and it looked like the Kobold’s Legacy would probably be next. When the Cabal of Wander-Wishers showed up, the two of them packed their bags, bid the bar goodbye, and announced that they would be traveling with the other kobolds. If anyone had a problem with that, they didn’t say anything. Thunda and Zap! like to think of themselves as the cabal’s first line of defense.

Flambé

The head chef for the cabal and a talented Draconic Sorcerer in her own right. Flambé hatched in the midst of a big city. She was on her own for the most part, though she occasionally ran into a kind stranger. Flambé’s flame-based powers manifested early on in life, forcing her to spend a great deal of time just honing her control. One of Flambé’s favorite things to do was sneak up to the back window of one of the city’s restaurants—The Last Firewine—and watch the chefs work. She’d get chased away if she was spotted (because a stray kobold at the window would be a bad look), but she was able to spend enough time watching to pick up a thing or two. Eventually, Flambé would spend her nights “acquiring” various ingredients and her mornings cooking in lower income neighborhoods. This wasn’t entirely out of the goodness of her heart: wealthier people would have been more likely to shoo her away. As time went by, she became better at cooking and even developed the speciality of adding various magical flames to influence flavor. Originally, Flambé thought her dream was to open her own restaurant. When she made the mistake of making the signature dish of The Last Firewine’s head chef, the man hired people to tear down her cooking stall and run her out of the city. It was then, as she was foraging in the wilderness, that Flambé realized her true dream was just to share food with people. The Cabal of Wander-Wishers happened across her on their travels, drawn in by the fragrant aroma of her food. They asked her to come along, and she excitedly agreed, happy to have the chance to share her cooking again. Her favorite dishes to make are Black Flame Skewers and White Fire Berry Sauce.

Violi

Perhaps the most mysterious member of the Wander-Wishers. Violi simply walked into the middle of the cabal’s encampment one night and began to play a melody on his lute, utterly enrapturing everyone around him. He stuck around after that and, naturally, the other kobolds asked him to share his story. Violi would always reply by writing down a lyric from one of his favorite songs. The message was clear: music was his story and that was that. Violi never speaks out loud, but this doesn’t make him any less of an incredible bard. His performances can range from fervent, inciting passionate dancing and soulful roars to melancholy, inducing calmness and introspection. Wherever Violi came from, the cabal is lucky to have him.