The guard by the entrance threw a few more suspicious looks at me, but stepped aside.
I couldn't blame him. When we approached, the sight of a blood stained figure, carrying two backpacks, with a couple of big swords and a spear sticking from one, and the crimson torchlight (from Pinpin's torch) ominously illuminating it from behind – all that must have created quite an impression.
At least he didn't immediately attack or sound an alarm – after all, adventurers were not that rare in town, so somewhat similar sights must have been witnessed before.
This gave us a chance to show our credentials. From up close, the guard seemed to recognize Pinpin, too, which probably made things easier.
"Welcome back."
Simply nodding in return, I stepped forward, finally marking the end of this mission.
Before me lay the industrial district. Unlike the last time I entered town like this, the hour was still not very late. The square was still quite lively, with torches and oil lamps adorning most of the building entrances, and a single standing oil lamp post proudly illuminating the center.
"We need to turn in the mission."
I could sense the sack of trophies, carried by the halfling, no longer had the same smell as when we'd just left the cave. The rotten undertones in the iron-rich smell had already become distinct.
"Yes."
I took the lead and went down the street. From here, I already knew the road to the guild from here – it wasn't that far.
"By the way…"
There were two topics that I wanted to resolve.
"Are you going to handle… Tim's.. affairs? If not, I could probably ask Xi-"
"I'll do it!"
Pinpin's reply was unexpectedly firm. Turning my head, I saw the flames of grim determination in his eyes.
"He.. he left me instructions. On what to do if.. something happened to him. So I'll do it."
I nodded my head in understanding.
"Alright. I'll drop his backpack by your room after we turn in the mission, the. If you don't mind, I'll take the hobgoblin's gear with me, though. I was planning on taking that chainmail to the smithy, see if Goromir could refit it. Of course, I'll have it approved, and give you your share. I'll also sell the weapons, so my share from that should cover-"
"Stop. They're yours, anyway."
"..?"
The halfling sighed, before explaining.
"Between adventurers, there are certain unspoken rules. An etiquette. When it comes to fights during the mission, unless the enemy is a target of the mission itself, the loot is distributed based on contribution. This hobgoblin was not part of the mission. You might as well have killed him yourself. The gear is yours."
"I.. won't say no, but are you sure?.."
"It's fine. If I took any share of that loot from the one who saved me by acquiring it, I wouldn't be able to look in the mirror. And Timmy… he was very passionate about this type of adventurer etiquette."
The halfling sighed.
"And his share of everything else should be more than enough."
I nodded. I'd be lying if I said I felt no smidge of guilt about unceremoniously accepting the loot, but… every bit of gold. Every piece of equipment. I needed all of it if I wanted to have a chance of survival, and even that might not be enough.
'Move. I have to move forward. Every hour counts. Every coin counts.'
After the near-death fight, my sense of urgency flared up stronger than before.
What would happen if the halfling didn't shoot the enemy on time? What would happen if his sword reached my skull before mine reached his neck?
Would my soul just disintegrate instantly? Would it go to some sort of afterlife? Would the latter even be better than the former?
I didn't want to think about this sort of thing. I resolved to focus every effort I could muster to prevent those sorts of questions from ever being relevant again.
Even if I knew, deep in my heart, this goal was still far, far out of my reach, I still vowed to do everything in my power to reach it.
Without noticing, I had already made my way to the guild's front door.
Seeing the lights were on, Jane did not leave early. With a sigh of relief, I made my way in.
Two people beside the receptionist were in the hall. One, an adventurer at the reception desk, who just received a small coin pouch, was turning to leave. The other, a short, bold middle-aged man dressed in a uniform that seemed vaguely familiar, was sitting by one of the tables, his eyes slowly scanning some document – one out of many, which were lying in a small pile beside him.
Walking past the two, we arrived before Jane.
"We finished our mission. We've come to submit trophies and collect our reward."
From the corner of my eye, I could see the halfling subtly flinch for some reason, but decided to ignore it.
"Party name?"
"...Pine Stallions."
That was the party name when I joined, ok? I had nothing to do with this. I only found out after we (Tim) filled the request assignment form.
"I see… typically, the party leader is needed for this. Where is Tim?"
"He died during the mission."
Jane's face, which I couldn't remember showing any expressions other than boredom or annoyance, twitched in surprise, as she gasped and quickly brought her hand to cover her open mouth.
"I- I'm sorry for your loss."
"My condolences."
To my own slight surprise, the short man in the hall also expressed his sympathy.
The halfling just lowered his head.
"Thank you. Now please, let us finish this quickly."
"Of course."
For the first time since I stepped foot in this hall, Jane's voice sounded professional, with no hint of the previous boredom.
"Sebastian, if you please, could you give me a full report of this mission?"
"Alright. We met up in the early morning yesterday…"
I recalled our journey through the woods being slightly slower than expected due to the plant gathering, taking the shortcut to the cave, slowly making our way until we saw the side tunnel, our encounter with the goblins…
"Wait, wait!"
Surprisingly, it was the short man again.
"Weapons, formation AND tactics?" He narrowed his eyes, standing up from his chair and looking me dead in the eyes. "Boy, you're not making this up, are you?"
"He's not. I swear – both me and.. Timmy fought them too. Even if we didn't do much in the end…"
The bard corroborated my story.
"Sir Thomas, please, the proper protocol is-"
"Proper protocol? Jane, is that really you? Regardless, if this is true, you'd definitely be writing a lengthy report, so just consider this a stroke of luck, and an averted all-nighter."
With the man's last sentence, Jane's face quickly flickered between a few very distinct emotions, similar to someone who'd nearly been struck by a truck in the middle of the sidewalk, only to have it slide to the side at the very last moment and pass right by their face.
"D-do as you wish, Deputy."
'Deputy?'
"Young man, have you perhaps encountered those creatures' leader later in this story?"
I nodded, my expression grim.
"I see. Would you mind waiting here for a moment?"
I nodded again, but before I even finished moving my head, the man was already walking towards one of the doors behind reception.
Jane looked like she wanted to say something, but, perhaps as the word 'all-nighter' resurfaced in her mind, the words got stuck in her throat.
The man's hasty footsteps continued beyond the door, leading further in, before abruptly stopping. I heard the sound of a door opening, and a faint voice which seemed to belong to Harold getting cut mid-sentence.
Thomas seemingly stepped into the room, without closing the door, and started talking.
'Does that room have some kind of magical spying protection? Like those guard headquarters?'
I could make out sounds that appeared to be urgent words, but everything sounded muffled and was barely audible from here. I suspected the only reason I could hear anything was because he hadn't bothered closing the door.
In less than half a minute, I heard his steps in the corridor again. Shortly after, I heard a heavy set of footsteps joining him, which I recognized as Harold's. However, what I didn't recognize were an even heavier set of footsteps, coming out last.
'Could it be?..'
My question was soon answered, as the back door swung open again.
The first one to emerge from it was deputy Thomas, his face wearing the same serious expression as before.
The second one was Harold, with a tense look on his face that betrayed a bit of worry.
Finally, barely making it through the door frame, wearing a massive suit of plate armor, with an equally oversized two-handed axe hanging from its back, and the same stone-cold expression on his face as the first time I saw him, out came the sheriff himself.
"Miss Jane, could you please close the front door? This will take a few minutes."
Jane followed deputy Thomas's request, pulling out a "We'll be open soon" sign from under her desk, and quickly making her way towards the front door.
Thomas motioned me and the halfling towards the largest table in the hall – one that also had the sturdiest chairs around it.
"Sebastian. Hard at work, I see."
The sheriff subtly nodded his head as we walked towards the table.
"It's an honor you remembered my name, sheriff."
"Most folks in your position would rather I didn't remember their names at all."
I could see the left corner of the sheriff's lips subtly rise.
"It's good you're not one of them. One of the fundamental things that makes us Valorian's – we repay our debts. If you'd choose to stay here in the future, this is one principle you shouldn't forget."
"Now, young man, please start from the goblin encounter again."
We had already reached our table, and sat down. I began retelling the encounter again as per Thomas's request, but was cut off by Harold.
"Are you sure they actually had a formation? And used those tactics?"
"Yea. Quite sure."
"Could it be that they simply managed to scavenge some old swords and spears from somewhere, and their chaotic movements accidentally looked like a formation to you? After all, goblins have no problem figuring out simple tools they find, and they could have found the site of a bandit attack?"
"I don't know, but I doubt it. Their weapons matched, their defenders waited in position, while the speargoblins even used two large pouches to carry smooth throwing stones."
"Goblins! Pouches! Kid, did you bring back any of that?"
"...no. Why would I bring back decrepit junk and cheap patchy pouches?"
"I don't know. this sounds a bit too far f-"
"Harold."
Only now had the branch leader noticed the disapproving look from the sheriff, and instantly pressed his lips shut.
I continued, describing our short contemplation and decision to rest a bit before giving the search one last chance.
"Young man. You said this situation struck you as odd, yet you decided to continue, in part because you hadn't recognized the potential nature of the threat - correct?"
I nodded, however, the bard interjected.
"I.. I actually should have known. I should have remembered. I heard there once existed hobgoblins who-"
"Hobgoblins! In some remote nest, in this remote town? Why in the hells would there be hobgoblins there? Tell me, were those hobgoblins who killed your friend, too?"
The halfling's face froze at Harold's sudden remark, shifting into an expression of shock, which was slowly morphing into anger.
"There was a single hobgoblin. And yes, he killed Tim."
I decided to take over the conversation once again.
"I presume he also commanded the remaining goblins from that nest?"
"Yes. They ambushed us further down that side tunnel."
"Oh, so they even ambushed you. And, pray tell, how did you escape with your lives?"
"We didn't. Tim died, and the two of us barely managed to kill him after clearing the rest of the goblins."
"Ah, of course. You, neither of whom even walk a Path yet, killed the ambushing goblins and their leader. Ha. Ha."
Harold's has shown a mix of mockery and disbelief, likely more at our audacity than the story itself.
"Let me guess – for some reason, you don't have any evidence of this either, right?"
I silently took the sack from under the halfling's chair, and placed it on the table, disregarding the rancid smell and its filthy underside, filled with a mix of dry blood and earthen dirt.
Harold's face froze the moment the sack hit the table. Through its top, a bit of clumped blood-stained black hair was already peeking.
I lowered the edges, fully revealing the grotesque head, with its pointy ears and inhuman anatomy.
Jane, who came back, and was diligently filling a report form, gasped once again.
Harold's face was now frozen in shock, not a trace of mockery left.
"That's very impressive, young man. I'm curious to hear the rest of this report."
Thomas had raised an eyebrow, and his voice now contained a modicum of respect.
The sheriff's expression remained unchanged, but after a moment, he turned to Jane.
"Miss receptionist, could you please bring me a new copy of the local monster guide? The one provided by the guild? The newest edition, the one your current branch leader compiled and signed off on?"
Harold's face instantly lost some color, progressively becoming closer to that of a corpse, as Jane brought a familiar booklet, which the sheriff quickly skimmed through, taking slightly longer at a particular sub-section of monsters.
"I see there are even references here. Harold, your version cut out the hobgoblin."
"T-there hasn't been a hobgoblin sighting here in the last century, at least! It's my duty as branch leader to conserve the guild's resources! And those guides had to remain affordable! How could I justify-"
"Enough. You are dismissed. You may return to your office now. My deputy will get the remaining monthly report from you after he's done here."
"Bu-!.. as you wish, sheriff."
With the expression of someone who forcibly got their face shoved into a pile of steamy cow manure, the massive man simply stood up and left the hall.
"Thomas, finish it up here."
"Yes sir."
With those words, the second massive man stood up from his chair, the latter ominously creaking but still holding firm, and with a nod towards his deputy, then one more towards me and the halfling, made his way outside.
"Now please, let us hear the rest of this report."
I told Thomas and Jane, who were both filling different documents for this report, the rest of the story.
When it came to our decision to climb down into the cavern, I could see a mix of disappointment and pity in Thomas's eyes.
When I told them how Tim met his fate, Jane lowered her eyes, and Thomas threw a sympathetic nod at the halfling, who has been sitting in silence ever since Harold's remarks.
"Hmm"... "Oh?"... "That was a good maneuver."
When it came to the fight, Thomas showed a few reactions - mainly to my initial clash with the hobgoblin, my descriptions (and, to Thomas's request, rough imitations from memory) of the hobgoblin's subsequent stances, and my ability to break through its blockade.
The story ended with our victory, my collapse, subsequent recovery using the potion, loot collection, and the eventual uneventful journey back here.
"Thank you for your report."
Thomas stood up, turning towards the back door. Then, as if he remembered something, he turned towards Jane, and unceremoniously took her form, scribbling something near the bottom, then taking an official-looking stamp from his pocket and putting it on the document.
"Make sure everything is distributed properly."
With those words, he went to Harold's office…
"Of course, Mr. Deputy."
...and Jane, who had been quiet from the start of the conversation at this table, finally turned her head towards us, and motioned back to the reception table, where the three of us promptly relocated to.
"Before we proceed, we need to settle the matter of the party. Since the leader is no longer among us.. does any of you wish to assume that position?"
"Nay."
"No."
Me and the halfling answered at the same time, without even looking at each other.
"Very well. If so, the Pine Stallions shall cease to exist with the conclusion of this mission. Would you like to divide the reward equally, or-"
"Give Tim's share to him."
I motioned towards the halfling. Since he was going to handle Tim's affairs, it was the natural decision.
"..very well. With this, the matter is settled, so let me discuss the rewards."
She threw another glance at the form.
"The original reward was standard bounties for the goblins, and 10 gold for the mission. However, as both the client and the local authority, the town guard had modified the reward."
She raised her hand, and extended three fingers.
"The reward for the mission shall now be tripled, and the reward for each bounty - doubled. Thus, 30 gold for the mission, 5 gold, 6 silver for the goblins, and 20 gold for the hobgoblin. The total is 55 gold, 6 silver. Or 18 gold, 5 silver per share, with 1 silver left. The town hopes you find this compensation for the guild's shortcomings appropriate."
I glanced at the halfling. His eyes contained a delicate mix of disdain and resignation.
As for me? Well, as far as I understood from the few conversations we had during the journey, the average unskilled worker, such as a stable boy or cook assistant, made around 1 silver per day in this town. This was before any expenditures, of course.
Given that the town just added over 30 gold to our reward, which was about a commoner's average annual income in this world, I really couldn't find it in me to complain.
As Jane went back to the counter, and returned with three small pouches filled with coins, my savings, which had slowly dwindled down to 17 gold, 7 silver by now, instantly grew to a new record of 36 gold, 3 silver.
This was before the share from selling that gemstone or plants, too. And before selling that hobgoblin equipment.
"This will be all. Just sign your names down here, and this request shall be officially filled."
I signed my name at the bottom of the form.
Pinpin, after some hesitation, had done the same thing.
"Congratulations on completing your mission."
With a smile that hadn't reached her lips, Jane put away the newly filled documents.
"Let's go."
I turned around, exiting the hall. The halfling waddled behind me.
As I promised, I made my way to the inn where both Pinpin and Tim were staying, slightly farther up north.
I offered to carry Tim's backpack upstairs, but Pinpin insisted he'd be fine.
I didn't argue, instead returning my sword to my back, fastening the hobgoblin's greatsword there as well - forming an X shape - and carrying the chainmail sack, as well as the spear, in my hands.
This was cumbersome, but I was going straight to the smithy from here, so I wouldn't be stuck with all of this for long.
"I'll sell the mushrooms and herbs today. When you're done with that gemstone, come to the Blue Mushroom Inn around dinner, we can balance our shares."
"...Sure. Good night, Sebastian."
"Good night, Pinpin."
Parting ways with my - now former - companion, I began to walk towards the industrial district, hurrying to finally put this day behind me.