Line #19 Literature/TheIronTeeth


1	[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hobgoblintv5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:210:A hobgoblin from the Iron Teeth Mountains.]]
3
4	''The Iron Teeth'' is a free online dark fantasy story or web serial. It is written by Clearmadness, and is updated twice weekly on Sundays and Wednesdays. Each update is between 3000 and 4000 words.
5
6	'''Synopsis:''' All Blacknail the goblin ever wanted was to live a peaceful life in his sewer home, and eat as much as he could fit in his stomach. He certainly never asked to be captured and whisked away to the far off Iron Teeth Mountains. There, Blacknail is taken in and made a servant by the outlaw Herad and her crew of bandits.
7
8	Among the monster-filled forests and snow-peaked mountains of the North he will grow into something far more than a simple goblin. As the world around him slides into ruin, Blacknail will fight to survive, and learn to live with the men and women of the North. When an ancient evil rises, Blacknail will be there to meet it, and leave his mark on the world forever.
9
10	However, first he has to get over his crippling fear of trees, and survive in a place where everything considers him to be the perfect size for a quick snack…
11
12	Link to the [[http://www.ironteethserial.com/ story]].
13
14	The first volume of Iron Teeth is also for sale on Amazon. It contains edited and exclusive content.
15
16	----
17	!!The Iron Teeth contains examples of:
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder: A-B]]
21
22	* AdmiringTheAbomination: Blacknail tries to intimidate Khita on their first meeting, but she just gets more interested in him because he’s a hobgoblin.
23	* AlchemyIsMagic: Magic in this story is done by mages who use crystals they create through chemistry or alchemy. A lot of education and knowledge is required to get the formulas right and bad things happen when you fail.
24	* AllTrollsAreDifferent: This novel's trolls are creatures that hunt within the northern forests. They are huge man-eating green-skinned monsters capable of insanely fast movements and unexpected sneakiness. They smell the blood of their prey, and are capable of indefinitely stalking them if not put down.
25	* AmazonianBeauty: Vorscha is an example of this trope. She is a muscular warrior woman who is also good looking.
26	* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Goblins have many different colors of skin. Most are green, but sometimes a goblin with a unique skin color is born. For example, the goblin who helped Blacknail find water has a blue cast to his skin.
27	* AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome: Amulets are made to hold particularly fine magic crystals, and seem to allow multiple uses of those crystals somehow.
28	* AnachronismStew: Most of the world is set in a medieval period, but the mage guilds have somewhat advanced chemistry, given that they know what nitrogen and sulfur are, and can use them to alter properties of crystals. As well as that, creatures such as harpies and drakes are decidedly saurian in appearance, yet are in a world of mammals and magic.
29	* AntiHero: Blacknail is an unconventional hero to a certain group of young goblins.
30	* AristocratsAreEvil: Vorscha used to work for a Lord, but he decided that it would be easier to put a bounty on her head than to pay her mercenary company their wages.
31	* AssholeVictim: A certain goblin in this story killed the bandit who was harassing him. He was definitely an asshole.
32	* BadassNormal: Although Saeter is just a human without magic tricks, he is able to kill most of the beasts in the woods. All because of his intellect and experience.
33	* BanOnMagic: Only the Mage Guilds are allowed to use or research magic. They thus enforce a magical oligarchy on the rest of society. If anyone else tries to learn magic they are usually killed by agents of one of the guilds.
34	* BlackAndGrayMorality: Killing people is a large part of this world, for personal gain more often than not.
35	* BlackComedy: The story constantly uses the murderous instincts of its protagonist for comedic purposes.
36	* BlackMarket: All of Daggerpoint is basically one big black market. Bandits and thieves gather there to sell goods that are illegal or stolen.
37	* BlobMonster: Slimes exist here. Not much has been revealed yet but they can range in size and toughness and have crystal cores.
38	* BladeLock: At any given time during a Sword Fight, expect the two blades to lock together, especially when you are teaching a young hobgoblin.
39	* BeneathTheEarth: Blacknail was born in tunnels beneath a human city. His tribe used to live there for generations. A large monster-filled network of caves called the Dark Roads has also been mentioned, but only briefly explored. Small insects called Harvesters live there and build vast mushroom farms.
40	* ByTheHair: Blacknail the goblin frequently grabs the hair of people he's fighting with. This usually causes them to expose their throats.
41	* BoisterousWeakling: There are a lot of guys like that in this story. They are called goblins.
42	* BowAndSwordInAccord: Saeter and several other members of Herad's band are proficient in using both bows and swords.
43	* BigEater: Blacknail likes to eat a lot, especially when reaching evolution.
44	* BizarreTasteInFood: Goblins like food to be slimy and somewhat rotten.
45	* BreathWeapon: Myagnoir the Great Drake is basically a flightless dragon with magical ice breath. It’s one of its trump cards used during destruction of entire cities.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder: C-D]]
49	* CantHoldHisLiquor: Blacknail the goblin gets roaring drunk after a single mug of beer. He then passes out and wakes up with a hideous hangover. This can be somewhat explained by his small body mass.
50	* CliffHanger: Many chapters end with one.
51	* CoolOldGuy: Blacknail's master, the ranger Saeter, is one of these. He is grey haired and noticeably older than all the other bandits and yet still by far the best tracker and a dangerous warrior. He is a somewhat grumpy hardass though.
52	* ContrivedCoincidence: Blacknail finds Khita right when a group of rival thugs is about to kill her.
53	** Similarly convenient coincidence is his encounter with the information dealer.
54	* CombatPragmatist: Some fights have rules. Most don't. Bandits usually try leveraging every advantage they can get.
55	* CuteMonster: Blacknail the goblin is a small little fellow with big cute eyes. He's also totally devoid of anything resembling morals and thinks nothing of killing people or other living things.
56	* CrypticBackgroundReference: Blacknail's and pretty much any other's backstory is pretty much unknown and will most likely only be referenced faintly.
57	* CharacterDevelopment: Blacknail himself notes this in 4.6.
58	--> As he stared at the feral goblins Blacknail realized he no longer saw the world the way this tribe did. They had such tiny short little viewpoints. They were just focused on simple things like food and shelter. When they saw the road at the edge of their domain what did they think? Did they wonder who had made it or where it led? Blacknail sighed as he realized a simple life like this would never satisfy him anymore. He couldn’t believe he had ever wanted to return to the sewers.
59	* ChekhovsGun: A strange potion given to Blacknail at the beginning turns out to be some kind of magic elixir that, against the odds fails completely to kill Blacknail, instead turning him into a Vessel. He was on his way to being sold to the Purple Heart guild along with the Caravan, which is why they had a battle-mage with them in the first place, a question brought up during the raid.
60	* DangerousDeserter: The North is filled with deserters from various armies that have turned to banditry to survive.
61	* DarkActionGirl: Herad the Black Snake, who leads a group of bandits, is a merciless killer and one of the most dangerous fighters revealed so far.
62	* DarkFantasy: The world is very dangerous and full of monsters. People die left and right and yet they still find time to kill each other. Has a limited magic system.
63	* DecapitationPresentation: Blacknail presented the head of Fang, an enemy Slosher, to Herad to appease her.
64	* DinosaursAreDragons: Both Drakes and Harpies are feathered lizard-like creatures, and have been referred to as Saurans.
65	* DireBeast: There are many examples of this found in this story. They usually have a well defined ecological role though and aren't just supersized versions of normal animals.
66	* TheDreaded:
67	** The City Killer, a near-invincible magical drake, and the ever-present possibility of finding another crystal host with a similar level of power.
68	** Blacknail's new "dominate everything!" hobgoblin instincts [[ShuttingUpNow shut up real quickly]] when confronted with the thought of challenging [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Herad]].
69	%%reveal these two tropes when they’ll actually happen in the story* DungeonCrawling: There are dungeons in this world that are formed by crystals, and contain valuable treasures. Monsters such as slimes also dwell within them. One of them is near Herad's base. She was eager to find and explore it, but fortunately she couldn't find the entrance.
70	* DuelToTheDeath: In 4.6, Blacknail accidentally wandered into another Hobgoblin's territory and invoked this to avoid being swarmed by the smaller goblins it brought. He won.
71	[[/folder]]
72	[[folder: E-H]]
73	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding: Blacknail goes through a lot more hardship, anguish, and grief than seems really necessary.
74	* EatingTheEyeCandy: Blacknail finds it hard to look away from Luphera, despite normally seeing Humans looking as fleshy and unattractive.
75	* EliteMooks: Mages and Vessels in the military. And they're treated like elites, too, causing Herad to correctly conclude that Basghus and Mehedium deserted for reasons other than mere discontent.
76	* EnemyEatsYourLunch: Blacknail does this to one bandit who talks disrespectfully of Saeter.
77	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Herad is against killing women and children. Bandits do know what will happen to them if they go against her will.
78	* EvilTastesGood: Blacknail will occasionally think or make remarks about how humans taste or smell. He is excited by the scent of blood, as well as the acts of hunting a prey and killing it.
79	* EvolutionPowerUp: Goblin → Hobgoblin → ???.
80	* ExactEavesDropping: On several occasions.
81	* FailedASpotCheck: The two thugs in the city don’t hear how Blacknail kills their partner right behind the corner, only several meters away from them.
82	* FamilyHonor: Geralhd killed someone during a duel because, among other things, they insulted his sister's honor and ruined her reputation. When asked how having a criminal in the family is better, he points out that dueling may be illegal in Eloria, but it’s still considered an honorable way to end a dispute.
83	* FantasticRacism: The main character is a goblin and gets treated badly by humans. Many humans seem to hate goblins and consider them subhuman.
84	* FiveFingerDiscount: Blacknail spends his first day in Daggerpoint stealing Meat Pies.
85	* FluffyTamer / TheBeastmaster: Saeter. The other bandits are impressed that he successfully trains Blacknail into a valuable helper, [[spoiler:especially after Blacknail evolves into a hobgoblin, making him smarter and stronger and more aggressive.]]
86	* FollowYourNose: Blacknail does this to find others or food that interests him.
87	* FoodAsBribe: Food works to get Blacknail to do something.
88	* FunctionalMagic: Mages have an Inherent Gift to use magic crystals. The crystals themselves are Devices created through Alchemy.
89	* GentlemanThief: The Robin Hood like bandit leader of the White Raven is an example of this trope. He was apparently honorable, charming, and rarely killed anyone.
90	* GiantSpider: Spiders the size of large dogs live in the forests of the Iron Teeth mountains. They attack from ambush, paralyze their prey with their venom, and wrap them up for later.
91	* GildedCage: Once someone is educated by the Endless Heavens Guild and entrusted with their secrets, they are never allowed to leave the Guild Keep without permission and an escort of Mage Guards. Cervessa admits it's a cage, but it's a damn beautiful one that she chose for herself.
92	* GotVolunteered: Blacknail tried to appease Herad about following her, by giving her Fang's head. Saeter points out that he just volunteered to be her personal assassin and she promptly puts him to work.
93	* GrimUpNorth: The North is considered one of the most dangerous and uncivilized places to live. It is here that the big bad Myagnoir the Greatest Enemy of Man lives as well.
94	* GreatOffscreenWar: The warring states offscreen lead to an increase of banditry due to deserters and some new characters.
95	* {{Greed}}: It seems to be in the nature of goblins to be greedy little bastards. They are constantly stealing stuff and collecting shiny things.
96	* HarpingOnAboutHarpies: This world has harpies. They are large birdlike animals with a second pair of claws on their wings and mouths full of teeth instead of beaks. They are also natural mimics similar to parrots. Think archaeopteryx with attitude.
97	* HeroicSacrifice: Ewarlyn holds the line long enough with his men for Vorscha and a few of her men to get away.
98	* HideYourOtherness: Post-transformation Blacknail keeps his large [[HornedHumanoid horns]] filed down. He misses the intimidating look of the horns, but filing them off lets him pass for a human with just [[InTheHood a hooded cloak]], and that offers possibilities too fun to pass up.
99	* HighClassCallGirl: Blacknail wanders into the room of a woman named Luphera, who happens to be naked at the time. She's incredibly beautiful and sensual. Her room is also luxurious, tasteful, and filled with a flowery aphrodisiac scent. She offers man services, including TheOldestProfession.
100	* HumansAreWhite: Every human character in the story is described in such a way that they could all be European. The in story explanation for this is that in this world all humans come from a single isolated continent known as The Homelands, and thus there is less genetic diversity than on Earth.
101	* HumansAreUgly: The goblin Blacknail frequently remarks or thinks about how ugly, pink, and fatty he finds humans.
102	* HornedHumanoid: After evolving, hobgoblins start to grow horns. Blacknail has taken to filing them down, since otherwise they would make disguising himself and wearing hats impossible.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder: I-M]]
106	%%* IcyBlueEyes: Herad has a particularly scary pair.%%Of what?
107	* IdiotBall: Apparently Fang used to go to sleep without keeping any serious weapons nearby.
108	* InterspeciesRomance: Blacknail and Luphera have a... ''thing'' at the end of Arc 6. Blacknail is left very confused the day after.
109	* InTheBack: Blacknail’s fighting style often involves stabbing unaware enemies from behind.
110	* InTheHood: If he keeps his horns filed down and smooths his voice a bit, Blacknail is able to pass for a human in a hooded cloak. It helps that the only human city he's been to is [[OutlawTown Daggerpoint]], where a good chunk of the populace goes around hooded.
111	* ImAHumanitarian: Ghouls in this story eat human flesh, preferably fresh.
112	* KingMook: Crystal Hosts are monsters that bonded with naturally occurring {{Power Crystal}}s, giving them great strength and magical abilities. [[BlobMonster Slimes]] are ''formed'' by crystal hosting.
113	* KnifeFight: Geralhd gets into a knife fight with another bandit named Dafur. He loses but survives as Dafur is killed when Herad intervenes.
114	* KnightInSourArmor: Saeter.
115	* KnowledgeBroker: Luphera, who trades information with Blacknail in what amounts to a game of twenty questions.
116	* LiterallyShatteredLives: The City Killer seems to take pleasure in smashing people after freezing them with its [[BreathWeapon ice breath]].
117	* LowFantasy: The Iron Teeth features grey morality, a human dominated world, comedy, and magic is of limited use and often unimportant.
118	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: How Blacknail dealt with Ferret. He stabbed him in the leg with paralyzing poison and then knocked him unconscious before dropping him face first in the latrine pit. That way it would look like he slipped in, hit his head, and drowned.
119	* MageTower: Archmagus Rastilio Fer Grehmar the Supreme Master of the Endless Heavens Guild office is situated in one of those.
120	* MagicAIsMagicA: Magic done by growing crystals using alchemy. Each crystal can then be used up by a mage to produce some effect.
121	* MagicEnhancement: Elixir users (Vessels, sloshers, etc) can enhance some of their abilities like speed and strength.
122	* MagicStaff: Mages use complex staffs to use one-shot crystals for greater efficiency and control.
123	* MagicalSociety: There are multiple mage guilds that control the production of crystals that mages use to cast spells.
124	* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Human civilization is in the medieval age, but magic exists.
125	* {{Magitek}}: Mages use staffs that are complex mechanical devices to help channel the power of their spell crystals. The Endless Heavens mage guild has also been mentioned to have built an elevator powered by magic.
126	* MilitaryMage: Mages are recruited by the various kingdoms to fight in their wars. These combat mages are trained by the mage guilds but then handed over to the army. They are valued assets, but ultimately expendable, and not considered to be true members of the guilds that trained them.
127	* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Luphera didn't like the way her boss was treating her and how he was running things. So she get Blacknail to kill him. [[spoiler:Except he was a distraction while she did the job herself and took his place as the owner.]]
128	* MonsterAdventurers: Blacknail the goblin is the protagonist and also a goblin who is part of a group of humans.
129	* MonsterLord: A particularly strong, smart and well-fed goblin can metamorphose into a hobgoblin: bigger, smarter, more territorial and bearing horns, and often found commanding goblin tribes.
130	* MonstrousHumanoid: There are a bunch of creatures in this story who look human, more or less. For example ghouls and hobgoblins.
131	* MoreCriminalsThanTargets: After the fall of Coroulis, the North is becoming infested with so many bandits that trade is drying up and the bands are turning on each other. Herad plans to centralize them all and eventually turn them into a nation under her rule.
132	* MostWritersAreHuman: Somewhat averted as the protagonist is a goblin who doesn't act and think quite like a human. Most characters are human though.
133	* MuggedForDisguise: Blacknail's concealing cloak got trashed on his way to Daggerpoint, so he lured a guy away from a merchant caravan and robbed him for a new one.
134	* MyInstinctsAreShowing: Most of Blacknail the goblin's acts and thoughts are human like, but some really aren't.
135	* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Upon meeting a tribe of feral goblins after becoming a Hobgoblin, Blacknail sees them as annoying but realizes that he is the one who has changed, seeing the world for much more than it is because of his interactions with them.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder: N-O]]
139	* NonActionGuy: Geralhd fills this role. He is educated, civilized, and intelligent. He is also an outlaw stuck out in the boonies among a rough group of bandits. However, he does have some fencing training under his belt: BewareTheNiceOnes. The problem is finesse only gets you so far out in the woods.
140	* NonMaliciousMonster: Pretty much every "monster" in this web serial is a type of animal, and thus non malicious. They may be 500 pound killing machines but they kill to live, not because they are evil. This is true even though many of the animals are both named after and resemble mythological creatures such as: harpies, trolls, ogres, drakes, and giant spiders.
141	* TheNoseKnows: Blacknail's nose is his strongest feature.
142	* NoSympathy: Blacknail doesn't care about humans, even if they are working for his own good. Unless he really need them and can't handle the situation, he will always ignore the others or try to get the best out of them. But many humans also share this trait in the harsh place of the Iron Teeth Mountains, beware.
143	* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight: Blacknail almost died in a brawl with older hobgoblin. His knife saved him.
144	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Malthus plays the role of a swordsman with honor and crap to fool people because he finds it fun, but he's an assassin and once the charade drops he gets serious.
145	* ObliviouslyEvil: Blacknail has inhuman morality, and has never even really been exposed to morality as a concept. For instance it's never occurred to him that eating people would be bad. And, his appreciation of property ownership is... decidedly skewed.
146	* OlderThanTheyLook: Khita is 17, but looks and acts younger than that due to poor nutrition.
147	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: This world has drakes which are flightless feathered dragons.
148	* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: This novel's ghouls are creatures originated from infected humans. When transformed, the ghouls retain some degree of intelligence and use deception to get their prey. They use their resemblance to humans in order to infiltrate human settlements and kidnap people in the midst of the night. Their claws and teeth are capable of infecting people and the only way to prevent the transformation is by ingestion of a mix of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent garlic and silver]].
149	* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: The main protagonist is Blacknail the goblin. In this setting goblins are common animals with enough intelligence to develop crude language and be trained to perform certain tasks, like cleaning sewers or small places people don't want to go. They are sneaky and mischievous and often blamed for stealing things. They aren't big enough to threaten people normally but can be dangerous when in large packs or if their prey is weak or wounded. If certain conditions are met, they can also [[EvolutionPowerUp transform]] into more powerful Hobgoblins.
150	* OurMagesAreDifferent: Magic in this story is done by mages. Mages are born with the ability to burn crystals to produce magic. Making and knowing what crystals do requires lots of knowledge and education though, and burning crystals when you have no idea what they do or how they work is basically a flamboyant form of suicide.
151	* OurMonstersAreDifferent: Harpies are predatory birds with human like faces, and slimes are dangerous creatures powered by magical crystals.
152	* OurOgresAreHungrier: These ones are actually vegetarians, not man-eaters, although it's a very bad idea to startle them.
153	* OldMaster: Don't let Saeter's age fool you; this guy is a force to be reckoned with.
154	* OutlawTown: Daggerpoint, a city founded by and for bandits, black marketeers, and other criminals.
155	* OutsideContextProblem:
156	** Blacknail. Most hobgoblins don't use long-term planning or formal training because it was thought impossible to tame them, but Saeter managed to elevate Blacknail to the point he could do so.
157	** Scamp, on the principle that only humans are supposed to be able to use mage crystals, but he has the potential to do so.
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder: P-S]]
161	* PaperThinDisguise: Blacknail’s hood-disguise works too well -- people don’t notice anything wrong about his face even when he’s walking right next to them in broad daylight.
162	* PerkyFemaleMinion: Khita is a young woman who is part of Herad's group of bandits. She has a perky personality and her actions are usually used as comic relief. No one really takes her all that seriously, but she's also far from useless in a fight. She really likes her knives.
163	* {{Planimal}}: Mimics are large stick bug like beasts that mimic trees and attack animals or people who get too close. They fit this trope because part of their disguise is that they have actual symbiotic plants growing from them.
164	* PlotThreads: The main plot follows Blacknail the goblin, but the story also has various interludes. These interludes follow different characters and can even take place in the past. They are used to expand the world and show different viewpoints.
165	* PoisonedWeapons: Saeter and Blacknail occasionally use weapons coated with paralytic [[GiantSpider timber spider]] venom.
166	* PowerCrystal: The magic system in this story is based around the use of magic crystals to achieve various effects depending on the type of crystal used.
167	* PrivateMilitaryContractors: A few bandits start out their working lives as this until things go south. For example, Vorscha worked as a mercenary -- until her employer decided that outlawing her company on trumped-up charges beat fully paying them. And, if Herad plays her cards right, her band could well function as a decidedly murky company of these, too. She's already made one or two shady deals with lords which lean in this direction.
168	* RandomEffectSpell: According to Mahedium, badly grown magic crystals are this. Given how the odds stack up, using them is almost certainly suicide.
169	* RedBaron: Herad the Black Snake, and her rival Werick the Wolf.
170	* {{Revenge}}: Ferret was a bandit who was damaging Blacknail's reputation and threatened to kill him. Blacknail didn't like that and, when it became clear that he wouldn't back off, the bandit was no more.
171	* {{Robinsonade}}: Blacknail’s mentor teaches him various survival skills during the first arcs.
172	* TheRunaway: Khita was part of another gang and joined up with Herad for protection. While Red Dog originally refused to bring her along, she kept stabbing other recruits and it became the safer option.
173	* RunOrDie: When a drake spooks a bunch of Ogres into a stampede, everyone runs for obvious reasons.
174	* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Saeter and Blacknail.
175	* SignatureScent: Luphera wears a purfume that smells alluring like a female goblin to Blacknail.
176	* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Blacknail starts with small time theft as a goblin, then begins to kill to get ahead in the tribe as a hobgoblin.
177	* SufferTheSlings: Blacknail is taught to use one to give him his first ranged capability. He later teaches the skill to a tribe of feral goblins, since he killed their hobgoblin protector.
178	* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: The mage guilds treat magic like a science. They use chemistry and the scientific method to create spell crystals and other devices.
179	* SuperpowerLottery: The City Killer is a drake (already one of the strongest monsters in the setting) that's also a powerful crystal host, sporting [[GiantMook enhanced size]], deadly [[AnIcePerson ice breath]], and likely also [[ItCanThink an enhanced intellect]]. The combination allowed it to casually tear apart Coroulis, a major city.
180	* SuperSerum: People known as Vessels, or more informally as Sloshers, consume a special elixir created and sold by mages to gain superhuman abilities. The power granted by an elixir needs to be replenished by consuming more. Not everyone can use it though, as most people who take it die and even successful Vessels can become addicted.
181	* StandardFantasySetting: It lacks most of the typical other races, but still counts.
182	* StickyFingers: Goblins don't ''steal''. Humans are just really touchy about people rescuing shinies left lying around.
183	* StoryArc: The Iron Teeth is divided into story arcs.
184	* StreetUrchin: Blacknail ran into a couple of these trying to pickpocket him in Daggerpoint. His solution was to give them a good kicking.
185	* {{Streetwalker}}: The city of Daggerpoint's streets are walked by skimpily clad women, and some men, who wander around and solicit prospective customers.
186	* SwordFight: Plenty of sword fights all over this story. First time, when Blacknail met Saeter had happened just after bandits had sword fight with caravan guards.
187	[[/folder]]
188	[[folder: T-Z]]
189	* TagalongKid: Khita and the Goblin Scamp to Blacknail. The former decided she wanted to be a scout and Saeter put him in charge of her (and its been made clear by Vorscha that she would blame him if something happened), while the latter was picked up by Varhs but was too lax to discipline him properly and Blacknail has to keep him in line to keep others from thinking bad about Goblins.
190	* TameHisAnger: Hobgoblins have problems with power hierarchies when they are not the one on top, so Blacknail has to learn to manage his anger.
191	* TechnologyUplift: Blacknail spends some time commanding a goblin tribe while recovering from a fight with their former leader, and passes the time by teaching them skills like cooking, snare-setting and sling use.
192	* ThreatBackfire: Khita has rather strange notions regarding self-preservation — when Blacknail tries to scare her away by revealing himself as a hobgoblin she only gets more excited.
193	* KnowledgeBroker: Blacknail's contact Luphera is not avert to gathering information for her clients.
194	* TheVirus: Ghouls are monsters that multiply through an infection. Bites and contact with their bodily fluids are the usual vectors. When ghouls attacked Herad's camp, she had a giant pit prepared for them, and even the soil that the ghouls bled on and the clothes worn while killing them were buried in it.
195	* TheSyndicate: Persus and the Broken Wheel company, they dispose of goods for the various bandit bands in the Iron Teeth mountains
196	* TheTrickster: Blacknail the goblin is a trickster. Throughout the story he makes up for his small size through trickery and cheating. As an outsider among humans he also often disobeys convention and acts in unexpected ways. He is also fond of disguising himself using a long cloak.
197	* TinyGuyHugeGirl: Two of the bandits in Herad's band are Geralhd and Vorscha. The two are implied to be an item, and Geralhd is described as small man while Vorscha is a very tall and muscular woman.
198	* TrainingTheGiftOfMagic: In this world people who have magical potential need to train it properly before they can use it consistently.
199	* VillainProtagonist: Blacknail frequently murders and steals, and does not even comprehend why any action that doesn't further his or his master's interests might be morally wrong.
200	* WhenTreesAttack: At one point Saeter and Blacknail are attacked by a mimic. Mimics disguise themselves as trees and prey on creatures that get too close. They're not actually moving trees though, they're somewhat like giant stick bugs or crabs that have symbiotic plants and leaves growing from them.
201	* WebSerialNovel: The Iron Teeth is one of those, updated chapter by chapter online.
202	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: After transformation Blacknail couldn't control his new instincts, and wound up lashing out on Saeter. His discipline training helped somewhat to bridle them, but the instincts are still there.
203	* WizardingSchool: Cervassa Mas Dhallia, a mage from Endless Heavens Guild, is working at one as a researcher.
204	* {{Xenofiction}}: The protagonist Blacknail the goblin has a different way of thinking about things than humans.
205	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Blacknail killed the Hobgoblin who attacked him and was given its title and position in the feral tribe.
206	[[/folder]]

Context Literature / TheIronTeeth