Mastery Is Earned

By the time the caravan returned to Blackstone seven days later, it was late afternoon and dusk was approaching. After a brief inspection by the guards, the caravan was allowed into town.

Raymond did not stop to unload the goods or even settle the accounts with Bob. As soon as the wagons and horses had been taken to the stables, he and Henk hurried toward the center of town.

The two guards on duty outside the town guard’s headquarters were startled by the way they came rushing up.

Henk held something tightly wrapped in cloth against his chest, and whatever was inside moved from time to time.

The guards clearly recognized Raymond and Henk, but they hesitated over the unidentified living creature inside the bundle. One of them asked, “What is that? Can you open it so we can see?”

Henk looked at Raymond. Only after receiving his approval did he set the bundle on the ground. He carefully pulled back the cloth, revealing a small, scaled monster with a long, slender tail.

One guard immediately drew his weapon and pointed it at the kobold. The other studied it curiously. “What is that?”

“A kobold. It has extremely important information, and I need to see the Sheriff at once!” Raymond said.

The two guards exchanged a glance. The one with the drawn weapon immediately turned and entered the headquarters.

After resting and eating well during the journey, the kobold was in much better condition than when Raymond and Henk had first encountered it. It blinked its orange-red eyes and studied its surroundings with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity.

Before long, the guard hurried back. “The Sheriff says you may go in and see him.”

Henk wrapped the kobold up again, picked it up, and followed Raymond into Marcus’s office.

The office looked no different than it had twenty days earlier. Marcus still sat behind his desk, dressed in ordinary clothes and leaning back wearily in his chair. He looked at Raymond, then Henk, before finally settling his gaze on the bundle in Henk’s arms. “Let’s hear it. What information have you brought?”

Henk uncovered the kobold. Raymond pointed at it and said, “You asked me to investigate that scale. I’ve brought back what I found.”

“Information? You mean this kobold?” Marcus clearly recognized the creature.

Raymond looked at the kobold. “Go on. Tell the Sheriff everything you told me.”

“Yes. Yes.” The kobold nodded repeatedly.

Marcus immediately sat up straight and stared at it. “It... It can speak?”

Raymond gave him a puzzled look. “Can’t other kobolds speak? This is the first one I’ve ever seen.”

Marcus rested a hand on his chin and considered the question. “I’ve seen kobolds before, but I’ve never tried talking to one. Perhaps they can. Perhaps they can’t. I’m not sure.” He waved a hand. “Go on, then. What exactly do you know?”

The kobold could speak and make itself understood, but it still struggled to express itself.

“Let’s start with this scale.” Raymond took out the scale and handed it to the kobold.

The sight of it immediately excited the creature. It barked several times before speaking. “This... same as Rotpaw’s! I saw it!”

“Rotpaw?” Marcus looked baffled. “These things have names?”

Raymond sighed and addressed the kobold. “I already told you. This came from a goblin, not a gnoll.”

“Yes, yes, goblin!” The kobold leaped to its feet. “Same as Rotpaw! Both have black dragon blood!”

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Marcus looked from the kobold to Raymond and sighed. “You’ve had plenty of time to learn most of the story by now. You tell me. Listening to it is exhausting.”

That was exactly what Raymond had expected. He had only asked the kobold to speak first to make the information more credible. “From what I’ve learned over the past several days, Sheriff, the situation is far more complicated than we imagined. This scale came from a goblin. According to the kobold, a hybrid gnoll called Rotpaw is active in the Blackstone Mountains and has the same kind of black scales. The scales on both creatures likely share the same origin.”

“Wait. A hybrid gnoll?” Marcus frowned. “Part goblin? What does that have to do with the scale?”

Raymond sighed. “That’s precisely the point. Rotpaw is a cross between a kobold and a gnoll. The kobold believes that both creatures carry the blood of a black dragon. I can’t yet confirm whether that’s true. But the similar black scales on the goblin and Rotpaw suggest that the same power has affected them both. In familiar terms, it may be a form of dragonblood atavism.”

“Atavism? Like those Greater Goblins?” Marcus’s expression turned strange. “You mean this is connected to dragons? We might have to face a black dragon?”

Noticing the skepticism and faint mockery on Marcus’s face, Raymond grew serious. “You wouldn’t say that if you had seen the Dragonblood Goblin. Ask the physician who treated Captain Carter. The burns on his body could not have been caused by ordinary fire.”

Marcus fell silent. After a moment, he slowly said, “My apologies. Continue.”

Raymond nodded and glanced at the kobold. “Rotpaw, the Dragonblood Gnoll, is active in the Blackstone Mountains. It controls a gnoll tribe and has enslaved the kobold’s tribe, confining them to the mines and forcing them to dig for ore all day. Rotpaw smuggles the ore to humans in exchange for weapons, armor, and other supplies. With its advantage in equipment, it has gradually brought the other gnoll tribes in the mountains under its control. It also defeated the goblin tribe active there and drove most of the goblins down from the mountains.”

“Then what do these goblins have to do with a black dragon?” Marcus asked uncertainly. “If they show the same dragonblood traits, why would Rotpaw drive them away?”

“I don’t know. This kobold was clearly confined to the mines the entire time. After it escaped, the bandits immediately captured and sold it, so it knows little about the goblins,” Raymond said. “What we do know is that both the goblins and gnolls pose a serious threat to Blackstone. This gnoll faction, in particular, is far more dangerous than the goblins.”

After a brief pause, Raymond added, “As for the buyer you asked me to investigate, I didn’t find the person known as T. The ore was eventually purchased by a woman in the black market named Tessa Mercer. She appeared to recognize it. We were followed after leaving her shop. I suspect she sent the men, but I can’t yet confirm what connection she has to T.”

Marcus waved a hand. “We can set T aside for now. Those gnolls are the more urgent problem!” He rose and slammed a hand against the desk. “Someone get in here!”

The door opened, and a young clerk entered. “Sheriff.”

“Go! Bring me that bookkeeper. What was his name?”

“Martin, Sheriff,” Raymond supplied.

“Right. Bring Martin here at once! Go now!” Marcus shouted.

“Do you have a written order, sir?” the young man asked.

“You don’t need one. I want him brought here immediately. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir. My apologies.” The young man hurried from the room.

Before long, two soldiers in leather armor dragged Martin roughly into the office and shoved him to the floor.

“Ah, Sheriff.” Martin smiled ingratiatingly at Marcus and struggled to his feet. Then he caught sight of Henk beside him and fell back to the floor.

Marcus hauled Martin upright and glared at him with a vicious expression, saying nothing.

No one else in the room made a sound. Marcus’s reaction terrified Martin even more, but he finally found enough courage to ask tentatively, “Sir, what’s happened?”

“Tell me. What kind of gnolls were you trading with?” Marcus demanded.

“What? They were just gnolls, sir. What else could they be?” Martin looked confused, unable to understand the question.

Raymond hurried forward and whispered a few words into Marcus’s ear. Only then did Marcus release Martin and return to his seat. His gaze was colder than ever.

Raymond gently helped Martin up with a friendly smile. Martin knew him all too well, and that smile only made him more frightened.

Once Martin was back on his feet, Raymond asked softly, “Do you know about hybrid gnolls?”

Martin’s face twitched as he forced a smile. “Yes, yes, I do. Hybrids. Some of the gnolls we traded with looked very strange.” His gaze happened to fall on the kobold nearby. “Yes, like that! They looked a little like it, though not exactly. I thought they were all gnolls. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you, sir.”

Martin turned toward Marcus again, looking aggrieved and pitiful. It seemed he truly had not intended to lie.

Raymond quickly noticed that his words seemed to carry a deeper implication. “You said some of them. Do you mean the gnolls you traded with included both hybrids and full-blooded gnolls?”

“Yes. Yes.” Martin nodded repeatedly.

Raymond and Marcus exchanged a glance. Both looked uneasy.

“The next trade with the gnolls is still five days from now?” Raymond asked.

“Yes. We trade in Blackpine Forest at the beginning of every month.”

“Put together a new report on the exact meeting place, the contact procedure, and everyone involved in the next exchange. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.” Martin nodded again and again.