Tribulations of a Dragon

If we didn’t have to focus on learning more about this vile steel affront business, I might have wanted to explore this mutated soul stuff. But that’s another thing I’ll have to shelve. It does seem very valuable to know that my venom has quite an effect on this material, and I think that might be useful for helping Lauren. We just need to figure out how.

“Captain Raya, we need a decision about what to do now. Where do we go from here?”

I’m sure she looks pensive as she stomps back and forth on my head. Stopping on my nose, she raises a hand into the air and proudly summarizes our needs.

“What we need is someone who knows a lot about this stuff and how it affects those afflicted by it. Then we can trade that knowledge and maybe a cure for something else.”

“They know much of the Affront. They cannot undo the damage done.”

That’s only somewhat helpful, and I already have a good idea of what this soul-tasting weirdo wants. It does seem prudent to learn what Skelly knows, so maybe we should trade some venom for knowledge. Especially if Skelly’s faction is warring against this Dead Jerk’s Legion.

“And would you trade your knowledge for some of Kira’s venom? We would need a lot of knowledge since the venom is so valuable!”

She drives a hard bargain, still swinging around that dagger of hers. I’m a little worried about it ending up in my eye with all this movement going on.

“They will consider this trade. They bring up a debt owed for the prisoner. They consider the breadth of repayment options.”

I forgot about that. To be fair, I was busy being sick because of some sort of evil vomit magic. Now that I think about it, all Skelly would have to do to defeat me is just keep casting that spell until I give up. Geez, I need to keep that to myself.

“You’re making bags of bones owe you a debt now, Kira?”

“Yep! I’m very entrepreneurial.”

I wonder what sort of things I might be able to extort from this undead person. I’m sure some old faction like that has a lot of very valuable things I could use. Of course, if they offered to cure Lauren, I would take that in a heartbeat.

“Skelly, what can you do to help my friend, exactly?”

“They ponder the question. They struggle to reach a desirable answer. They seek guidance from their patron. They receive revelation. They suggest the creation of a phylactery. They explain the creation of a Lich.”

I’m not sure Lauren would appreciate becoming undead, but from the sounds of it, that’s one possible solution, which is a start.

“They offer an audience with their patron in exchange for a taste, a vial of venom, and a cleared debt.”

That seems like a lot, and it doesn’t really tell us what Skelly’s patron is, but it feels like a dangerous thing to agree to. So far, Raya hasn’t rushed to agree, making me suspect that she’s feeling cautious too.

Giving the sky a look, I notice how the sun is setting and it’ll be dark soon. I don’t really wanna stand around here all day, and I also have that meeting with Wreyn. Since I’m a little curious, I toss a question Skelly’s way about how this tasting would affect me, the risks involved, and whether it would come back to hurt me somehow.

Skelly then goes on to explain how it wouldn’t affect me at all, really. There’s no risk involved because of my mutated soul being more powerful than it should be, but it would attune Skelly to my particular brand of magic, allowing them to more easily affect me with their magic. That is most certainly a risk I don’t like.

Demanding more information on the last part, Skelly gives me some quick information about how they aren’t one person. Once they have become attuned, then the parts they're made up of would also become attuned, allowing them to spread the attunement in a diminished form to those who have sourced parts from the same bodies. Geez, they just go around exchanging body parts? Undead are weird…

The back and forth continues for a while between Raya and Skelly, most of their chat is just Raya throwing Skelly a bunch of random questions about being a skeleton. It turns out that if they break a bone, they just go find a replacement. I didn’t ask where they found a replacement, but Raya seems to think that makes perfect sense.

“Skelly, if I agree to this trade, can you promise me that you won’t share that attunement with others and that you won’t use it against me?”

“They seek approval from their patron. They have been granted approval from their patron. They wish to taste Kiranot the Dragon.”

“Fine. I want you and your patron to help Lauren get rid of the affront, and in exchange, you may have a taste, some venom, and you won’t owe me anything.”

Somehow, Skelly just pulls a vial out of thin air and throws it to Raya, followed by absolutely exploding in a cloud of dust! WHAT THE HELL! What was that?!

“Kira! What did you do?! You can’t just explode skeletons because they’re weird!”

“It wasn’t me, Raya! I didn’t do anything! I felt a weird, tingly sensation, and then Skelly exploded! I have no idea what happened!”

I feel like we might have to leave the crime scene before Skelly’s patron, whatever it is, shows up. I have no idea how it might react to Skelly being extra dusty.

“Raya, grab Skelly’s robe and stuff, we’re getting out of here.”

Lowering my head, she jumps down and starts collecting the stuff left behind by Skelly’s mysterious explosion. Using the skeleton’s robes as a bag for everything, she collects a surprising amount of baubles. My best guess is that Skelly had a bunch of jewelry attached to their ribs and such as well, so that’ll be a nice haul. That I’ll return if their patron shows up, of course.

As soon as we return to Tuiran, I’ll need to put Joras to work figuring out how we can turn my venom into an antidote for Lauren. It could end up being quite important in the future, so I want him to dedicate as much time to that as possible, and that means no distractions!

With Raya jumping up on me again, we rush to the square so we can take off. I’d rather spend as little time as possible at this crime scene before that patron fellow shows up and demands answers.

The sun is setting in the distance, and if I want to visit Wreyn, it'll be quite late, but I don't think he'll mind that if I actually show up today. I wanna bring Raya, since she's pretty good at casual conversations with new people. She sure did hit it off with Skelly before the skeleton’s untimely demise.

At least we got out of there with an idea of how to proceed. That’s a very good start, and when Joras solves everything, it’ll be even better!

With Raya somewhat securely seated on me, we leave Plainshold behind, hopefully for the last time. I haven’t really had any good experiences in that place, and I guess they haven’t had any good experiences with me visiting. Once we sort out this Lauren being sick business, I should look into helping out the people who used to live there. It really was the adventurers I was mad at. I still am, they’re jerks, but the citizens haven't done anything aside from harboring the jerks.

“Raya, do you wanna join me for a trip to Oakhold when we finish overworking Joras?”

“Are you going to cause problems in Oakhold too? I don’t think Neithro would like that.”

I do other things than cause problems! Dang it, I can’t think of any examples right now… Wait! I know! I hunt wolves and keep people safe, that’s a good thing and it can’t possibly cause problems. As I point that out, Raya is quick to dash my enthusiasm by pointing out that I’ve caused quite a bad situation for the adventurers, which I guess I might have.

“So I can admit that I did cause a problem with my hunting, but the overall improvements outweigh it, right? And the adventurers can just hunt other things, right?“

“They did: you.”

Right, there is that… Well, I hope I’ve discouraged any such foolishness now. I’m reasonably confident that I’ve made my stance clear on the topic of hunting me or my people. All I can do about that is hope for the best and stand firm if trouble arises.

“Raya, do you disapprove of what I’ve done?”

“A little, but nah. They had it coming, and Neithro says that the regular people got out, so only dumb adventurers got hurt.”

“Well, and Lauren.”

“I know what I said.”

Huh, that might be something I need to explore. If Raya is jealous of the time I’ve been spending with Lauren, I’ll definitely need to focus more on Raya and make sure she knows that she’s still the most important person to me. She was the first person to give this overgrown lizard a chance, after all.

“Do you dislike Lauren, Raya?”

“Nah, it’s just hard to forget what she is. I’m trying, though. And she has helped a bunch around town, making sure people are safe and healthy. But I don’t wanna talk about that, fly faster and higher, you overgrown lizard!”

“I’m not a lizard!”

Having made my indignation clear, I do as she asks, pushing magic into my wings as we ascend into the skies at a steep angle. She’s holding on tight as she yells in excitement. Building up speed, we do a loop as the centrifugal force keeps her from flying away.

Evening out and going for a soar, we approach Tuiran and I’m kinda curious what the others have been up to. Especially now that they had Shadow Man among them.

“Lauren, are you all back in town or still at the lake?”

It’s a fairly simple question, but I’m not sure how to interpret the feeling of exasperation I get in return. We’ll just check the town, now Lauren knows we’re near, so I’m sure she’ll meet up with us.

Naturally, we take a flight over the town square and my den to see if Lauren is there, but neither Raya nor I spot her, so instead I suggest we go to Joras’ shop and appropriate some containers to start gathering my venom.

“I don’t want to carry around Skelly’s items all night, Kira. Where do you want me to leave them?”

That’s a fair point, so after landing in the square, Raya and I head for my den to leave Skelly’s items behind, so they’re kept safe alongside my hoard. If they happen to end up mixed together, well, I can’t be held accountable for that.

Smelling around my den, it’s obvious that Jeannie and Forest Lady are here. Forest Lady has this interesting smell of moss, trees, and lightning strikes, it’s quite pleasant to be around. My den’s own personal air-freshener. My own smell is more like smoke, burning, and blood. Raya’s smell is one of the best though, she smells of fresh herbs, flowers, and energy. I’ll never get tired of that.

I don’t know why, but Lauren is more comfort, familiarity, and home for some reason, and I think that might be part of why I’ve grown to like her so fast. Smelling people is something I’m definitely gonna keep indulging in, but I also need to be wary of threats that smell endearing.

Redirecting my attention away from scent-based thinking, I instead choose to greet Jeannie as her door swings open. I’m curious how she has decorated her room, but the door is so small that it’s difficult to get my head low enough to see inside.

I’ll have to think of some sort of yoga stance to spy on Jeannie’s interior design. For now, I throw a quick greeting her way and give her a nudge, asking if she knows where Lauren is. If it weren't for my great hearing, I don’t think I would have heard her over the noise of Raya rummaging through my stuff.

“Uhm... Joras invited her to visit him to keep her safe and study her infection.”

She seems almost remorseful as she tells me, but there’s no way she’s at fault for anything, so she just gets another nudge and a tiny lick. Well, as tiny a lick as someone as big as me can do. Jeannie responds by hugging my nose before returning to her little den. It sounds like Jeannie and Forest Lady are really hitting it off. Good for them.

Turning around to see what the heck Raya is doing, I… uh…

“Help me, Kira. Please.”

She’s stuck in one of Skelly’s sleeves! I have no idea how she has ended up in this situation, but she’s thoroughly stuck and I don’t have the dexterity to help her without ruining the very valuable piece of garment. I’ll need someone to help out here, and asking Jeannie would be far too easy for Raya. Instead, I, with all the caution I can muster, pick up the robe with my lips and lift it up with Raya dangling in the sleeve as we leave my den behind.

“Nooo! Don’t let anyone see the mighty Dragonbringer like this! Kira! Stop!”

Obviously I’m far too focused to pay her pleas any mind. It’s around midnight now anyway, so nobody will see. Well, nobody except Joras, Lily, and Lauren. Feel the wrath of the mighty Dragon, Raya! This is my revenge for all the bonks! Mwahahaha!

Raya squirms as she dangles, resulting in her swinging from side to side as her head sticks out of the bottom of the sleeve, I wish I could see it from a different perspective.

Trudging down the street, it turns out I have to be more careful than I’m used to, otherwise, Raya will fly all over the place, and I might damage Skelly’s robes. She has settled down a lot, though, which I suspect is to avoid drawing more attention to herself.

Aside from the odd yelp from Raya, our trip to the elfchemist's shop is uneventful, and I kinda miss a spectacle happening. For a moment I consider using Raya as a knocker, but I think that might be taking it too far. Instead I let out a growl to get the attention of Joras, and judging by the sounds of people using stairs, Raya is about to be mortified.

“Lily, it’s for you.”

Huh, Joras seems to just pass us on to Lily for some reason. He did look a little tired as he dragged a hand across his face.

“Oh, what a predicament you find yourself in, Raya. Do you wish for assistance? And where did you find something like this? The material is exquisite, and these enhancements are unbelievable. In addition to enhancements, it has enchantments as well! I would not be surprised if this robe could withstand your flame, Kira.”

“That’s nice, Lily, but could you help me out? Being upside down is getting annoying.”

“Oh, my apologies, Raya. Though could I ask for an opportunity to study these robes? They are fascinating, and if you see here, this type of gemstone is known to originate in the dwarven city of Irathmar’s Anvil, the capital of the old dwarven empire. Ooh! And this is-”

“Lily! Please! Help me!”

“Oh, my apologies! Right away.”

Watching Lily obsess over Skelly's robes makes me a little relieved that I didn't agree to let her gather the more accessible parts of my body for her magic stuff.

Letting Raya down gently, Lily is quick to help the goblin out of her unfortunate situation, and I’m getting the impression that I might not see Skelly’s robe again now that Lily knows about it. As I let go of Raya, I glance through the doorway, spotting Lauren snickering on the stairs.

“Lauren, we found something that could lead to somewhere.”

With a wave of confusion flying back to me, I let her in on all that we saw in the ruins of Plainshold, from corroding vile steel to it being called the affront, and everything else, except the exploding skeleton thing. I’m not gonna become known for blowing things and people up. It’s not something I do on purpose!

The rummaging and tussling noises increase in front of me, and it looks like Raya is almost free with no damage to the robes. That’s a relief, it would be a shame to ruin such an expensive and delicious item. With the help of Lily, Raya manages to get up, but she looks a little wobbly.

Asking for Joras to rejoin us at the door, I explain what we found out in the ruins of Plainshold, including the non-exploding parts of meeting Skelly. Joras seems to think that there’s something he might be able to do, since he’s using a high-tier thinking brow right now.

“Kira blew up Skelly for no reason!”

“Dang it, Raya! Now is not the time to get even, we need to focus! And I did not blow up Skelly for no reason!“

“Then what was your reason?”

“I mean, I didn’t blow up Skelly! I had no reason to!”

“That makes blowing up Skelly even worse!”

Dang it, that is worse… But I’m not having this discussion! It’s pretty clear that I’m not making it better by engaging. In a fortunate stroke of luck, Joras seems to have woken up some more, and now he’s asking questions, like who is Skelly, where did we get these robes, and other incriminating things. More importantly, he wants to know more about how my venom interacted with the vile steel stuff, and Raya is quick to explain. With that out of the way, we get down to business.

First, we need to extract some of my venom and have him do experiments on it, or whatever alchemists do to figure out how stuff works. With a shrug, he gets to work and fetches a bunch of vials and bottles and turns the game around on me by ordering me to open wide. Doing as he tells me, I open my mouth as wide as I can and… he gets scared.

“Relax, Joras, she doesn’t bite!”

“Raya, we have plenty of evidence to the contrary, making it very clear that she does, in fact, bite.”

That’s fair, I have been known to bite. But I’m not gonna bite Joras! Closing my mouth again, I give him a nudge and a lick to reassure him. Being the resourceful little elf that he is, he collects my saliva from the lick in a bottle and takes a few deep breaths.

Raya, on the other hand, has no fear whatsoever. She just gets to work scooping globs of venom into containers, rummaging around my teeth to scoop out the viscous stuff just like she did in the ruins of Plainshold.

“Hey Lauren, why would Joras be scared of me? I didn’t do anything.”

Walking over to us, Lauren gives me a look and a small smile.

“Silly beast, you can open your mouth almost as far as I am tall, and with your growth, your teeth are larger too. Of course he’s gonna get scared. Not only that, but he and Lily are the oldest ones here, it’s likely that they or their parents were alive during the last true Dragon attack.”

Huh, there is that… It’s still a bit rude, though. I just did as he asked, and all of a sudden, he’s bombarding my nostrils with his fear smell and making me drool. That’s on him. He does look a little embarrassed at his reaction, so we should be supportive when he's ready to share.

It takes a moment, but he does manage to gather up his courage to join Raya in the collection process. The weird sensation isn't getting any better by having two of them work, and I’m not sure I would allow it again if not for the obvious goal of saving Lauren. With the last bottle filled, Joras lets me know it’s fine to shut my mouth again, and I can finally relax my muscles.

Nudging Joras, I let him know that he’s welcome to talk to me about any dragon-related traumatic events. We’ve had a bunch of fun after all, so that's something positive to draw on. I think it might just be a case of him needing to get used to my growth spurts and whatnot, but I’m sure he’ll get there again.

“I know, Kira. I know you wouldn’t harm us, but you hold a tremendous amount of power and I worry. Though it is impressive how much you’ve changed Tuiran for the better. Traders have begun importing metals for the blacksmith you gave Dragonflame. In exchange, the cost is subtracted from the enchanted metals, like Dragon's Gold. We're seeing more goods of all kinds as more traders associated with Immarderen arrive. The town is prospering under your guardianship.”

Seems to me that he worries far too much, but that’s okay, every group needs someone to worry. I am happy to hear that folks in my town are prospering, and I’m curious how much that impacts what I get paid in tribute. I hope it’s a bunch! With a few pats on my nose, he goes back into his shop and starts rummaging through a bunch of alchemical stuff. It seems he’s preparing for tomorrow.

Looking into the sky, I notice that we’re a decent bit past midnight, and I’m not sure whether to just go to Oakhold and visit Wreyn or have a snooze, leaving it for tomorrow. Nudging Raya, I leave the decision up to her as Lily and Lauren say goodnight. Before they leave, they get some goodnight nudges, too.

As expected of Raya, she's quick to decide that getting some sleep is best, so that’s what we do. Before going our separate ways, she attempts to give me a nudge. It’s arguably more of a headbutt, but she tries, and I appreciate it.

On my way home, I can’t help but think of how it’s been a while since I’ve had to sleep alone, and I’m happy to have so many great people around me. I might have to kidnap Jeannie for the night, though.

For obvious reasons, I keep my nose ready as I walk through the streets of Tuiran, I never know what I might smell, and if it's something dangerous, I wanna deal with it fast. To my relief, and a tinge of disappointment, I don't find anything odd. So far as I can tell, tonight is as peaceful as ever. Unless someone has snuck in using one of those stupid sneaking potions, I hate those.

Approaching my den, I find myself growing quite sleepy and looking forward to getting some rest. It’s been quite an exciting few days.

By the time I enter my den, my thoughts flow toward Jeannie and Forest Lady, and I’m curious how they’re managing to keep Forest Lady’s shocks to a minimum. I’ve got the whole magic absorption thing going, but it has to be dangerous for others if she gets startled. I guess that might be why she was living alone in the woods. Settling down on my hoard, I get comfortable and coil up most of the way, leaving a gap big enough for a goblin or human to pass through.

“Jeannie, I want company while I sleep, please.”

Moments after I speak, the door creaks open and Jeannie's face appears, showing none of her usual shyness. With impressive gusto, she rushes to me and jumps onto my arm, settling into the usual sleeping spot.

A moment later, I spy Forest Lady approaching, she's a lot more cautious around me than Jeannie is. Welcoming her into my embrace, she joins Jeannie and we settle in for the night, not a shock to be felt. With the two shy ones nuzzled up in the crook of my arm, as is customary for folks now, we soon fall asleep, allowing the day to end.

————————

I’ve grown fairly accustomed to waking up to the gentle bustling of the town or the smooth voices of my friends talking nearby. Sometimes even Lauren’s yelling, but I have yet to grow accustomed to getting freakin’ shocked! I should have seen that coming. It feels like nightmares are fairly common in this weird world, and Forest Lady waking up scared is kinda expected.

The shock caused me to jerk a bit, and she’s even more scared now, refusing to look me in the eye as she backs away. Approaching her, I give her a nudge, earning me another shock, but that’s okay, I prepared for it this time.

“Tiffy, usi er mora? [Tiffy, are you okay?]”

“Eb fhrah, Jeannie, e henwa du Themar… [I’m sorry, Jeannie, I hurt the Dragon…]”

Not feeling like being left out, I ask Jeannie to translate for me, which she readily does. The first thing I learn is that Forest Lady’s name is Tiffy, which I now feel like I’ve heard before. I like it.

Having Jeannie tell me that Tiffy feels bad for shocking me does make me chuckle a little. I get hurt more than that by being left alone in an empty room. Just look at the first time I went sightseeing in a new town, I got several arrows lodged in my body. Those arrows hurt more than Tiffy’s shocks.

I wonder what sort of criteria need to be met for Tiffy to shock people. It won’t take long to find out. Leaving the two shy ones behind, I leave my den and rush toward the blacksmith. Hearing the gentle footsteps of their mighty Guardian Dragon, folks move aside to allow me passage on my journey to acquire a legendary Dragon’s Gold sword.

Given the length of my stride, I arrive at the blacksmith in no time and request the longest Dragon’s Gold sword he has available, earning me a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

“Dragons taking up fucking swordsmanship now… World has gone mad…”

Taking the opportunity to do some more curiosity feeding, I take a look through a sooty window and spot two forges. The one farthest away definitely still has my old flame going somehow. I'm kinda curious if my new flame makes a difference, and I find myself wanting to find out.

Making my suggestion clear for the blacksmith, he shrugs and walks into his forging area. Coming back out, he’s holding a large sledgehammer and starts demolishing a wall. That seems like a bit much, but when I question it, he just talks about how I need room to reach the forge, otherwise, I might burn the entire place down. There are a lot of assumptions going around about me and supposed destructive tendencies...

I’m actually trying to solve something right now, and solving things is constructive, not destructive!

Having worked diligently, the blacksmith has torn down half a wall, allowing me a little more access to the forging area. Aiming for the non-dragonflame forge, I release a small jet of white-hot fire, igniting the forge and earning an impressed gasp from the blacksmith. Seemingly having forgotten all about my sword request, he gets to work preparing a small crucible.

I don’t really want to wait for him to forge an entirely new sword, since I have the impression that it would take a while, so I ask for one of the already-made ones. I’ve lost him… He’s in an artisan’s trance and not listening to a word I’m saying…

I’m a problem solver, though, so I wrangle up a passerby and put them in the blacksmith’s shop, asking them to find the largest sword they can. A moment after they’ve disappeared into the shop, I hear metal dragging across stone, indicating their return. Why would anyone make a sword that heavy…

Lowering my head to the ground, I push most of my face through the hole in the wall and snake my tongue into the blacksmith’s shop, feeling for the goblin dragging the sword. With some effort, I get a hold of the guard of the sword, dragging the entire thing into my mouth. Success! With my newly acquired sword, it’s time to return to my den and see what we can do for Tiffy.

Meeting up with the shy ones again, I take the sword out of my mouth and plunge it into the clay, no doubt breaking the hearts of many blacksmiths around the world, but that’s not important right now. With Jeannie’s help, I ask Tiffy to channel her magic into the sword and see what happens. As expected, not much, but the sword does take on a weird blue glow.

Tiffy shares her experiences as well and explains that it feels like something is drawing away the magic she uses. That sounds like grounding to me. With her sufficiently drained of magic, we just need to scare her a little. Sharing my plan to scare her, she seems unsure of how we're supposed to do it, since she's confident that I won't hurt her.

And that’s a fair point, so I nudge Jeannie, asking her to translate something for me, and she is quick to agree.

"Kira sadis berci muto kaon- Wait! [Kira says she will eat- Wait!]"

Lowering my mouth over Jeannie, I push her against my palate as I close my mouth. Trapping her inside with a bunch of clay, she seems surprisingly indifferent to the situation considering her shout for me to wait. As far as I can tell, Jeannie trusts me to keep her safe. She isn’t even fighting to get out, but I can feel her finger tracing shapes on my palate now that I’ve loosened my tongue, making it surprisingly hard not to spit her out again. It tickles far more than I expected!

Tiffy isn't quite on the same page, though. Instead of trusting me, she rushes to me and starts slamming on my belly scales, demanding I release Jeannie. Getting translations from inside my mouth feels odd. It isn't quite the reaction we were going for since we wanted fear, but all we're getting is oodles of defiance and bravery. It's a little surprising that Tiffy is ready to throw herself at the mighty guardian dragon of Tuiran to recover her friend. Good on her, that's awesome.

But this isn’t working, so it’s time to let Jeannie out again. Landing on the ground, she seems unshaken by the experience as she gets up and wipes away the worst of my saliva before pulling Tiffy into a firm hug.

We’ll need to think of something else, but I’m sure that I’m onto something with the sword and conductivity, so we’ll have to explore that some more, but in a different way. Not today, though, I think Tiffy needs a rest after all the sudden excitement.

It’s also becoming increasingly obvious that I can’t rely on translators and spells to communicate, I need to learn Lauren’s language, and I am dragon enough to admit that I should have done so earlier. That’s gonna be the second-most highest priority now: studying and learning language. I still want Joras to focus on finding some way to fix Lauren's affliction.

With a nudge given to both Tiffy and Jeannie, I take my leave again, my destination this time is Joras’ shop! I’m gonna be the best student he’s ever had! In fact, I should bring breakfast. Using my keen dragon senses, I smell out a bakery and change course. I’m not sure what sort of stuff the others like aside from meat and spices, so I’ll have to get a few things.

Given the early hour, I’m not surprised to find a line leading to the bakery. With the delicious smells coming from it, I’d imagine people from all over town come here. It’s a good thing I don’t have a schedule to keep because waiting in line would definitely make me late.

Everyone’s leaning against the walls, making sure the streets are clear for other traffic, so I try to do the same, but given how much larger than a goblin I am, I don’t really succeed. That’s fine, I’ll just get out of the way if anyone needs to pass with something large.

The folks in line seem to be engaged in idle conversation about what to do, and they seem unsure, leading me to believe that they have a day off. That’s nice, a day or two of rest is very important.

We should make a road leading to my lake so folks can go for a dip in the water with their families. I’ll have to suggest that at some point, maybe the next time I find Turo, the money guy. With the line moving at a steady pace, I don't really get to just sit and wait, which is a little annoying, but I'll just have to deal with it. Can't win 'em all.

It takes a while, but when I finally make it to the front, I see all sorts of goodies. Bread with berries in it, darker breads that look like rye, pastries of all sorts. I don’t know what to pick… Oh no! I’m one of those people who don’t make up their minds while waiting in line, and now I'm making everyone else wait! This is bad!

Thinking fast, I point out a bunch of stuff and ask them to pack it up for me. Finishing up, I let them know that Raya the Dragonbringer will stop by with payment later, hoping that's good enough. To my relief, the baker agrees with a wave of her hand, leaving me with another problem to deal with: I didn’t bring my bag. Dang it.

The baker laughs as she orders a few young gobbies to help carry my stuff, which they seem quite willing to do, so that’s another problem solved. We’re really making great progress with problem-solving today.

With a gang of gobbies on my heels, we saunter through the streets toward Joras’ shop and make it there in not-record-time. It’s so easy to forget how long my stride is compared to goblins, so I’ll have to be a bit better at accommodating them.

Before I have a chance to consider knocking, Joras’ door swings open and standing in the doorway is a wraith of some sort. With sunken cheeks, hollow eyes stare at me with a mix of irritation and regret. I think Joras might have been up all night, but he still greets me with an apology for getting scared last night. Of course I act with tact and grace, letting him know that it's okay to be a little frightened sometimes.

"Kira, dancing and teasing isn't making me feel better... But it is making me annoyed..."

Disregarding his slander, it's time to bring up those language classes, which I do. And as soon as he hears, his mood lightens to an almost scary degree. I'm gonna need backup here.

With a gentle request, the gobbies bring my baked goods into his shop as he calls for Lauren and Lily. For someone who carries himself with quite a lot of elegance and dignity, he sure is fine with just shouting for people. The battalion of tiny gobbies rush back out the door, having unloaded the goods. I nudge a couple of them and ask for a few to fetch Raya and send her to the town square. I hope she's enough to contain the now overly enthusiastic Joras.