Burden of Proof

The trip into Slyrest went smoother than I expected.

Rejoining the road, we crossed paths with a few travelers departing from the town, but earned no ire or suspicion from them - just curious glances. Perhaps, kobolds were more accepted as mercenaries than I thought? Though, with a town currently embroiled in a potential kobold problem, you'd think there would be more concern. Then again, kobolds seemed to pose a threat only in large numbers, and Moya was alone, and accompanied closely by an Adventurer. I guess most people reasonably assumed it was nothing to be concerned about.

I was debating with myself over this, despite the lack of problems coming from it. I think I just needed to shut up and accept the good tidings while they lasted...

Moya, meanwhile, said nothing. I did catch her glancing my way a few times - first, when we passed the first few travelers, and then a few more times as we approached the walls. As calm as she was trying to be, I imagine the experience was making her nervous.

Nevertheless, we passed into Slyrest without incident, and I immediately made my way to the nearest guard station. I assumed they'd be the ones to report back to, since there was no branch of the Guild here.

The nearest venue for the guards was a small station that was connected to the walls, which they could mount in the event of an attack. One of the guards was situated atop the walls in this way, probably to serve as a lookout, while another was situated on the ground, probably to act quickly near the entrance, should something unsavory come waltzing by.

"Hi there," I began as I approached, waving awkwardly to the man standing a few feet away. "Not sure if you heard from your fellows, but I'm an Adventurer, here about your kobold problem. Problem's been taken care of, you see." I showed him a small collection of shards from the kobold nest's makeshift walls.

"That's good to hear. Good to get rid of the buggers before they get out of hand," the guard replied with a nod. Then, naturally, his gaze passed over to Moya. "I can only imagine the story for why that one's followin' ya around."

"Ah, right," I pretended to act like I had forgotten about my new companion. "I'm a Tamer, you see, so I Tamed this one to help me out. Was very useful in getting rid of the nest, so I'm keeping it around."

The man's eyes widened a bit. "'Tamed' you say? That's a strange way of putting it, but kobold have been hired as help by Adventurers before, aye. I suppose if it's pulling its fair share, that's reason enough for a new Adventurer to keep one along."

As I glanced over at Moya, I found her gazing up at me. Her face was still as neutral as ever, but I could sense a strange flicker of confusion behind her eyes.

Oh, right. She didn't know what the hell we were saying. Kinda forgot about that...

I gave her a short nod of affirmation and turned back to the guard. "Well, I'm off to Athelens to turn in the quest."

"Right. Once we confirm the nest's destruction, we'll send word to the Guild that your end is upheld. Can you direct us to where you found it?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh, shit. They want more proof. And I don't really know...where...

"Uhhh," I began, putting a hand to my head, "sorry, but I kinda got lost in the woods tracking them down! I didn't really keep a detailed map of where I ended up, haha!" I thunked myself on the head with a fist to drive the point home. The guard was not amused.

"Right...well, if we can't confirm it for the Guild, they might not accept the job's been done," the guard explained with a shake of his head. "I suppose, if enough time passes and no kobolds have been sighted, the Guild might make a declaration, based on the asker's wishes..."

That was not nearly fast enough! I needed this done so I could get paid, damn it!

"Shit, ok, uhh give me a second!" I replied frantically, thinking. After a few moments, I felt a light tug on my pants. Looking down, I found Moya looking up at me again.

"Are we in trouble?" she asked plainly. Again, she couldn't understand us, so this was understandable.

"You are completely fine," I replied, kneeling down next to her. "I, meanwhile, might be up shit creek without a paddle!"

The use of that expression sailed over her head and just served to confuse her more.

But then, an idea came to me. An idea so obvious it made me want to kick myself.

"Moya, do you know where the nest is from here? Could you give me directions to it, if I asked?"

Mercifully, the kobold nodded. "It's a forty-five minute walk that way," she pointed back down the road we had just come from, "if you keep going straight when the road turns."

I clasped the little creature on the shoulder and grinned. "You're a life saver, my partner in crime!"

"We're already resorting to crime?" was her reply.

"Not meant to be taken literally, my new chum!" My triumphant grin was now strained and toothy as I endured the back-and-forth. I rose back up to my full height and met the guard eye-to-eye. "The nest is forty-five minutes down thataway, if you keep going straight when the road turns!" I pointed, much as Moya had, back down the road.

The guard nodded, but his expression was that of confusion, and of some degree of concern. "Did you just...? No, never mind. I don't want to know," he said at last, waving a hand dismissively. "Fine, we'll check it out and send word to the Guild as soon as we can."

"Then off to Athelens, I go!"

After a few parting words to the guard, we made our way through the city proper - the path to the capital lay on the other side, after all, that much I could remember. Moya seemed to remain on-guard as we passed through the city center, and earned no shortage of gazes. Some people even pointed, seemingly without an ounce of discretion, for the benefit of those around them. Still, none were openly hostile.

It was only then that I remembered our stony steed.

"Damn it, I forgot Rockford!" I kicked myself inwardly, but then got to thinking: what WAS I going to do with Rockford? I had brought him under my sway on the path toward Slyrest, so I had no experience dealing with him in the context of the capital. Would the capital be a safe place to bring him along? Judging from how the guards reacted here, I imagine others would still find his presence undesirable. I was half tempted to do it anyway, just to see if anyone could tell me anything about him. If I played the fool - ignorant to the very end, mostly because I was - I might be able to get off scot-free, even if bringing him along ended badly.

"I'm sorry, officer, I got attacked by this cool tiger statue on the road, but then I Tamed him and he was super helpful, I didn't know he was illegal!" type of argument, you see. I was a victim first and foremost. They couldn't fault me for that.

Probably.

I decided to loop back around to retrieve Rockford. In the end, it was probably a good thing we came all the way through - we had just told the authorities where we were going, so doubling back the way we came would make us look foolish at best and suspicious at worst. Moya seemed to understand what I was doing - and probably wondered why we hadn't gone back for "the beast" already - and didn't comment.

"Objective fulfilled: Successfully hide your blunder from your party."

"Quiet, you."