Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 03 - Dues of heroism - Part One {Rewrite}

Nadine and I quietly watched Toofy rip and tear her way through the remainder of what had been a rather large tray of sausages. Like a starved animal, Toofy barely spared the necessary time to breathe as she stuffed more sausage into her mouth.

“I am sorry for thinking that you weren’t feeding her,” Nadine apologised, “I did not think the group Synergy would be this bad...”

“Group Synergy?” I asked curiously. This was the first time I had heard mention of such a thing.

“Oh, right!” Nadine smacked her forehead, “Sorry Tim, I should have told you about this sooner, it’s quite important. When Slaves or monsters are in the same party, they share a lesser version of their Racial Abilities. I had thought since both of your Abilities are only rank zero that it wouldn’t do all that much yet. But unfortunately, it looks like I was wrong,” Nadine explained hurriedly. “It is a little more complicated than this, but basically Toofy is receiving a lower-ranked version of your Iron Gut Racial Ability. It is probably only healing her wounds slightly while drastically increasing her appetite...”

[Toofy - HP: 8/19 - Bloodied ]

Looking at the panel displaying Toofy’s status, I could see that she had recovered five HP since yesterday. However, I didn’t have sufficient frame of reference to know if that was slow or fast.

[Toofy - HP: 9/19 - Normal ]

Noticing that Toofy’s HP value just changed I realised Nadine was right. However, I still had more questions, “Nadine? Do you mind if I ask a question?” I asked politely. Manners cost nothing and I wanted an honest answer.

“Alright,” Nadine nodded encouragingly.

“Does eating food recover the HP stat? Or is it just because of my Racial Ability?” I asked inquisitively, “Also, is there healing magic to recover HP? Like spells or potions?”

“Healing spells and potions exist, but the potions are expensive and the classes with decent healing spells don’t unlock them until around level twenty,” Nadine explained with a tinge of disappointment, “Most adventurers with spellcasting classes are very unpopular at low levels because we are seen as not pulling our own weight until we have strong spells,” she became a little flustered and cleared her throat, “Ah, but anyway, yes, eating food does help recover HP but it depends on the level of the monster’s meat being eaten and how much of it you eat.” Nadine pointed to Toofy who was all but finished with the sausages intended to feed four people, “With a weak version of your Racial Ability, Toofy might be healing at twice the normal rate...wait...Tim?” Nadine gave me a strange look.

“What?” I asked somewhat defensively.

“Ah, I was just wondering why you aren’t as affected as Toofy. I mean, aren't you hungry?” Nadine asked quizzically, “I know you're not injured but monsters generally don't have such...restraint.”

A little embarrassed, I shrugged, “Usually only when I am eating...”

My response certainly did not seem to be what Nadine had expected, her confused expression intensifying but abruptly disappeared and was replaced by one of clarity, “Tim what was your Willpower again?” she asked excitedly.

“Sixteen,” I replied, not needing to bring up the status screen to check. My stats seemed integral to my continued survival so memorising them wasn’t difficult.

“That has to be it,” Nadine insisted triumphantly, “If I remember right, Toofy only has six or seven. Basically the same as a child, there’s no way she could exercise the same level of...res...traint...” Nadine’s expression became lax and her eyes grew wide, “D-did y-you s-say s-six-teen?” She stuttered.

I nodded. Apparently, sixteen Willpower was a lot huh? Good to know. I wondered if ten was the human baseline for most stats.

Nadine gulped hard and took a minute to compose herself, “Tim? Have I mentioned just how happy we all are that you are part of the team?” She asked nervously with a strained smile.

“I thought you already looked at my stats a couple of times though?” I asked, not sure why she had overlooked something like this after making such a big deal over my Intelligence.

Nadine gulped, “Ah, I think I was distracted by your Intelligence...” She explained awkwardly, “Monsters only very rarely have above eight Willpower. To have almost double that...” Nadine shifted uncomfortably.

Toofy finished licking the final drops of grease from the platter and had a hopeful expression as she lifted the tray and desperately searched for any sausages that may have been hiding. Toofy really did look quite adorable, in a feral hobo sort of way. She was like someone spliced together a particularly violent child with a stray cat or dog.

Wanting to get a start on the day, I shifted my attention away from Toofy and back to Nadine, “You mentioned before that you would organise some jobs for me today?” I prompted.

Nadine nodded and became more relaxed, “There are job listings on the notice board in the Guild office. Most of them are proper adventuring work, like killing specific monsters, monster resource harvesting or rescue missions. But there are also jobs posted by the other foothold residents that are safer, like what you did for Kirk. Most adventurers don't even consider them, because they don’t pay very much and you don't earn Exp because you aren't fighting monsters.” Nadine explained with a shrug, “Usually only the injured or complete beginners do these jobs. But Since you don’t mind, it will be a good way to try and offset the expenses for the room and food at least somewhat,” she gave a brief but pointed look at Toofy, who was licking the already clean platter.

I nodded to show I understood.

“Are you sure you don’t need anything to eat before we go see what jobs are available?” Nadine asked, somewhat concerned.

I shook my head, “I’m fine.”

“Alright, “ Nadine seemed a little sceptical but was probably thankful to save the money, “Let’s go check the job listings then.”

Picking up Toofy, I put her inside the pocket of my apron and she eagerly set to gnawing on the belt. I had made sure to stow the belt in there for just such a reason. I didn’t see the point in resorting to commands when a readily available chew-toy achieves the same result without resorting to frying her brain.

As we were leaving the inn, Kirk hurried over “Would you be able to take care of the baths again, sometime around midday?” He asked, “Rose and I will be busy finalising preparations around the inn and I don’t think I can spare the time to empty them all. I can give you and the little one another platter of sausages as compensation.”

“Alright,” I agreed. Most people in this world seemed to follow the same custom of stopping for lunch in the middle of the day, so it should be fine. Besides, emptying the bathtubs was easy and wouldn’t take long. “Are you sure? Aren’t sausages expensive?” I asked, trying to get a frame of reference on this world’s weird economy.

“The Vrabbit sausages?” Kirk asked, “We buy the processed meat from Don the butcher here in the foothold and he buys it from the Guild. So it’s actually rather cheap because of how plentiful it is. We can sell a platter of sausages for a copper and still make a healthy profit. But only because we boil them rather than roast them.”

I nodded to show I understood. With such plentiful ingredients, the most valuable commodity would be their time. Using the big pot they have in the kitchen, Kirk and Rose could easily boil hundreds of sausages at once. So long as the sausages tasted alright, they would have no problems turning a decent profit.

Entering the Guild office, I was not surprised to find that besides ourselves and the Guild staff, the office was otherwise empty.

Nadine waved good morning to the staff and headed over to the job board.

There were about a few dozen small pieces of paper nailed to the board scrawled with symbols I assume are letters, but cannot understand. However, each piece of paper did have a single simple picture on it at the bottom. The ones I could see were crossed swords, a hammer or maul, what looked like a knife and hatchet, and finally a pair of clasped hands. Did those symbols denote the type of job? I watched Nadine closely and saw that her attention was firmly fixed on the papers at the bottom of the board with the hammer symbol.

“Hrm, what about this one?” Nadine said quietly, rubbing her chin, “The pay is good, but you need to do the other job too? Okay, let’s see...ehhhh isn't that too stingy?”

“What is the job?” I asked curiously. I have no way of reading these myself, so I have to rely on Nadine. I should see if I can buy a book or something at some point to try and learn the language. Not being able to read could get me into a lot of trouble fast.

“Well...” Nadine seemed reluctant but shrugged, “The apothecary is paying a fair bit of copper for working the sap extractor to extract the sap from dawnmoss for soaps and stuff. But...you have to gather the dawnmoss first and he is paying a copper for every two barrels of it and there is a ten barrel minimum in order to get paid and at most thirty barrels...that's a lot of work for really low pay. You also have to deliver each barrel load to the Guild first, then drop it off to the apothecary.”

“Why does it need to be taken to the Guild first?” I asked. It seemed kind of arbitrary.

“Hrm? Oh, right. So with most resource harvesting quests-” Nadine pointed to a piece of paper with the picture of a knife and axe on it at the bottom, “-You need to deliver the materials to the Guild so they can register the materials as being received, then you deliver them to the client and get them to sign your receipt before returning to the Guild to collect your reward. Most of the time the client will just take the delivery from the Guild themselves, so you get paid right away and don't need the signature. The reason it is done like this is to stop clients from cheating adventurers out of their pay. Because if the client doesn't pay up, the Guild doesn’t get their cut. The whole receipt system leaves a paper trail so the Guild can keep track of what is going on and send the compliance enforcers if needed.”

“That’s...actually pretty smart,” I hadn’t really considered that. They were basically just using a similar system to modern-day businesses, albeit doing their best with available technological limitations. Still, this job may not be so bad, “Is harvesting dawnmoss hard? Doesn't it grow just about everywhere?”

“Well sure, and shearing it off the foothold defensive wall is pretty simple. It’s just that the barrels would be pretty heavy and...oh.” Nadine paused and smirked, “I guess it really wouldn’t be that hard for you, huh?”

“Probably,” I agreed with a smirk of my own.

“Alright, well if you don’t mind this job, we will take the other one as well. The sap extractor is easy to use. You just load the dawnmoss in the top and turn a handle. It’s pretty tiring, but I think it should be fine with your Strength and Toughness. But if you don't feel up to it, just doing the barrels is fine for today.”

“Does the sap extraction job pay per quantity like the other job?” It was an important factor in deciding if it was worth the effort.

Nadine nodded, “Each bucket of sap harvested will earn one copper. Usually, you can get two or three buckets of sap from a barrel of dawn moss, so long as it isn't summer. In summer it is usually a bucket less since the moss doesn't grow as well.”

“Alright, I will do both,” I confirmed, there was just too much money to be made to pass it up and let someone else reap the benefits. “Can I do both jobs at the same time? If I deliver dawnmoss, can I immediately use the sap extractor to stop someone else from doing it?”

Nadine had a complicated expression, “You could,” she agreed hesitantly, “But in this instance, no one else can take the job unless they are also doing the harvesting job as well. But that is still a good point. If there are jobs like this in the future, that is definitely the way to do it, guaranteeing as much pay as possible for the work you put in.”

“Okay, I will do that then,” I agreed.

Nadine nodded, “So long as the client is alright with it, then it is fine. Just remember to get the receipts signed to avoid any misunderstandings.”

I nodded and followed Nadine over to the counter.

“I would like receipts for the dawnmoss collection quest and the dawnmoss sap extracting quest please,” Nadine requested politely.

The male staff member nodded, and retrieved four relatively small pieces of paper before returning to the counter, “Alright, so, the dawnmoss harvesting is rather straightforward.” He pushed forward one of the papers before continuing, “The Guild will provide the necessary equipment, I just need your Guild identification number, name and signature at the bottom here.”

Nadine took a moment to read what was written on the paper before filling out the form and handing it back.

“Thank you,” the staff member filed the paper away below the counter before pushing forward the second piece of paper, “Alright, due to the variable nature of the request, please be sure to bring the requested materials back here first and receive a signature for each...” He took a moment to scan the page, “-barrel of dawnmoss, you have collected before delivering it to the client. Also make sure to have the client sign the receipt upon delivery of each of the barrels of dawnmoss,” the staff member handed Nadine the paper.

Nadine wrote something on it and took it off the desk.

“Alright, the request for sap harvesting will take place at the client’s place of business, so please remember to maintain the Guild’s standard for professional conduct aaaand-. He slid across the third piece of paper, “-make sure to have the client sign the receipt for the completed task. Any questions?” The staff member asked cheerily.

Nadine nodded as she wrote something on the paper, “My party’s tamed monster will be providing the deliveries. Is that alright?”

The man looked at me somewhat sceptically, but shrugged, “I would advise against autonomous use of tamed monsters. But there is nothing strictly against it. If you are confident that your monster can do the job and so long as the client is satisfied, then it is fine.”

“Okay,” Nadine smiled, “I will go see the quartermaster about the equipment, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the man replied with a smile.

Nadine and I left the office and walked around to the back of the Guild office building. The supply warehouse was like a large brick shed built onto the back of the building.

The quartermaster was an older man in his fifties with thinning hair and large glasses. He was currently holding a clipboard and appeared to be doing an inventory check.

“Hello,” Nadine waved with a smile.

“Morning,” the quartermaster replied a little grumpily But his expression softened after turning around and seeing Nadine.

“I would like the equipment for this quest please,” Nadine asked politely, offering one of the pieces of paper.

The quartermaster accepted the paper and squinted at it for a moment before returning it, “Of course my dear, one moment,” he replied amiably.

“Could I also borrow a messenger satchel as well? I have the required deposit,” Nadine withdrew two coppers from her pouch.

“Not a problem,” the quartermaster replied happily, bringing over two barrels in a handcart. Accepting the coins, he picked up his clipboard and wrote something down before retrieving a small leather satchel with a thick leather strap. “Will that be all?” The quartermaster asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Nadine gave the quartermaster a warm smile and put the job papers in the satchel.

I lifted the handles of the handcart and followed Nadine back to the front of the Guild office.

“Okay Tim, I need to get back to the inn and grab something to eat before the other two begin to wonder where I have disappeared to. Do you remember everything you need to do?” Nadine asked nervously.

I nodded, “Get everything signed for each step of the job,” I summarised.

Nadine nodded, now looking more relieved, “Alright, I’ll leave this with you then,” she handed me the messenger satchel. “Good luck Tim,” Nadine smiled and waved goodbye while she jogged back to the inn.

I already had a general plan of how I was going to do this. Because I needed to stop at the Guild before making the final delivery, I figured it would be best to harvest the dawnmoss on the section of the defensive wall closest to the Guild building. So, pushing the handcart back down the side road again, I continued until reaching the wall.

Setting the handcart down by the wall, I looked inside the barrels and found the tool I was looking for. It was a piece of wood roughly shaped like a knife with a similar yet blunt edge. Basically, the way to harvest the dawnmoss seemed to be done by separating its roots from whatever it was growing on by using the wooden knife or your hands and then pulling the dawnmoss off.

Setting to work, I could remove curtains of the dawnmoss at a time by making sure to properly separate the dawnmoss’s roots and scoring vertical lines with the knife down the height of the wall. It really wasn’t all that difficult and the dawnmoss growing on the wall didn’t have any dirt or decomposing leaf matter to worry about either.

Within about ten minutes, I had filled both barrels to the point of overflowing. I wanted to be sure that neither the Guild nor the apothecary could find an excuse not to pay up.

Wheeling the handcart back to the Guild office, I didn't have to wait long until the same staff member from before came over to perform the inspection.

Digging through one of the barrels for a few moments, he seemed satisfied and repeated the procedure on the second barrel with the same result. He then looked at me expectantly.

I opened the messenger satchel and handed him the paper with a knife and axe symbol at the bottom.

He nodded, held it against his clipboard, signed it twice and handed it back again.

I replaced the paper in the satchel and trundled off towards the apothecary.

The Guild staff member accompanied me some of the way there, before heading back to the Guild office. Probably just reassuring himself that I knew where I was going and wasn't just wasting his time.

The apothecary was only a few minute’s walk from the Guild office. I had seen it before but never been inside. Seeing that the handcart wouldn’t fit through the door, I lifted the barrels by their rope handles and walked inside. The inside of the apothecary reminded me a little of a small liquor store. There were bottles of strange coloured liquids stocked behind the counter and a few bundles of what looked like dried kale hanging from the ceiling.

There was no one at the counter, but a bell had rung when I came through the door, so I decided to wait.

About a minute later, someone wearing a black robe, dark leather apron and a beaked plague mask entered from the back behind the counter. “** ** ********!" The person said something I couldn’t make out clearly and pointed at the barrels excitedly.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” I apologised.

“* ****-" The robed figure began speaking just as unintelligibly as before, but suddenly stopped. Taking a moment to remove the plague mask, it revealed a young man in his mid-twenties, “Ah sorry, I keep forgetting that people can’t understand me with...” The young man stopped and stared at me for a long moment, “Are you an Ogre?” He demanded bluntly.

I cringed and nodded, “I am here to deliver dawnmoss for the request,” I explained, motioning to the barrels.

“Well, that is fine. Just try not to break anything, will you? Come pick up those barrels and follow me,” he waved and motioned for me to follow him into the back.

Lifting the barrels, I did as he asked and entered the back room. It looked like a giant meth lab, filled with beakers and other eccentric glassware. I now understood his need for wearing the mask. If I hadn't already lost my sense of smell, I probably would have now. Just by tasting the air, I could tell that this was where Nadine had acquired the contents of that glass vial Clarice pelted at my face.

“You can empty the barrel over here,” the apothecary pointed to a large crate.

I shook my head, “I need two signatures first,” I insisted, removing the job receipt from the satchel. Geez, I sound like I work at the post office.

The apothecary sighed and went looking for a pencil.

The prolific use of pencils was one of the more mundane oddities of this world. Yet I haven't seen a single eraser. Maybe that is why they are so popular? Without an eraser, they are basically as permanent as an ink-based pen.

A short while later, the apothecary returned and signed the receipt, “Alright, can you please deposit the dawnmoss in the crate as I asked?”

I replaced the job receipt in the satchel and withdrew the second request receipt and handed it to the apothecary, “I want to do the sap extracting as well,” I explained.

The apothecary gave me a strange look and didn’t take the job receipt, “I thought I made it clear that I wanted at least ten barrels first?”

I nodded, “Yes, that is what the Guild said. But I don’t want someone else to take my hard work,” I explained apologetically.

“Oh, well, that makes sense,” the apothecary agreed, “I’ll tell you what, bring me another two barrels and I will let you start the other request early. How about that?”

It was a more than fair compromise, “Okay. I will return shortly,” I replaced the request receipt in the satchel and emptied the dawnmoss into the crate.

Returning to the wall again, I harvested more dawnmoss, filled the barrels and received the required signatures from the Guild. All told, I was back at the apothecary within about fifteen minutes.

Carrying the barrels inside, I could tell that the apothecary himself was quite surprised to see me return so quickly. “Sign please,” I held out the receipt and stowed it away again after receiving the pair of signatures.

“You are quite industrious, aren't you,” the apothecary commented with a small smile, leading me into the back again. He motioned for me to come over by what I assumed was the sap extractor.

I had to assume it was the sap extractor because it looked nothing like the olive press I had envisioned in my mind. To me, the extractor looked like a big meat grinder for making sausages.

“Okay, the sap extractor is easy enough to use. Place a bucket below the collection nozzle, Just throw the dawnmoss in the top-" He motioned to a small tap at the bottom and to the chute at the top, “-and turn the handle. If it gets stuck, just try turning the handle back the other direction for a little bit, that usually sorts it out.” The apothecary then walked over to a row of barrels by the far wall. “When you fill a bucket, empty it into one of these barrels. But please please please, make sure to put the lids back on the barrels. I do not want a repeat of last time. Oh, and don't worry about the pulped dawnmoss that drops out of the extractor, I will take care of that later. Questions?”

“Is it alright if Toofy assists me with loading the extractor?” I pulled Toofy out of the apron pocket by the back of her tunic.

Toofy looked around the room curiously while still gnawing on the belt.

The apothecary regarded Toofy apprehensively, “Are you a Taskmaster by chance?”

I nodded.

“Hrm, I suppose it is alright then,” the apothecary conceded, “Just please make sure the Goblin does not get up to any mischief. There are many unstable compounds and valuable ingredients stored in my shop and I doubt your master would appreciate paying to replace them.”

“I understand.” I held up Toofy so we were at eye level with one another, “Toofy do you want to help?” I asked.

Toofy gave me a curious look, but she didn't take the belt out of her mouth.

“It is really simple and we will buy food later if you do a good job,” I offered enticingly.

Toofy’s eyes shone greedily and the belt fell from her mouth, “Toofy help! Toofy like food!” She shrieked excitedly.

“Alright, calm down Toofy.” I picked up the belt off the floor and stowed it away in the pouch again, “You need to be on your best behaviour or we won't buy food, okay?

Toofy nodded emphatically.

Just as Nadine and the apothecary said, it was actually a really simple job, and with Toofy’s help, we made really good time. In fact, by the time it reached midday we had completely finished both job requests.

We did such a good job that the Guild manager politely insisted that I wait while one of the Guild staff double-checked with the client before handing over the payment. It was pretty understandable and even though Toofy was grouchy at being forced to wait, I didn't mind all that much.

“Sorry,” the Guild manager apologised, counting out the coppers onto the desk.

I shrugged. Honestly, I am surprised by how accepting and accommodating the people in the town have been. I was supposed to be a literal monster. As best I could figure, it was my attitude that was responsible.

I swept the ninety-two copper coins off the manager’s desk and into the messenger satchel. I had already put my own three coppers inside as well. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Toofy but...I really really don't want to sift through Goblin feces to find any coins she may or may not eat in a fit of hunger. It seemed a little crazy when I thought about just how much money I earned this morning for only a little bit of hard work. Admittedly, Toofy helped, which made it a bit faster but not by that much.

“Food now?” Toofy asked pitiably.

“Yes Toofy, we will go get food now,” I agreed warmly, tousling her hair.

“Food!” Toofy cheered in triumph, ducking back into the pouch of the apron.

Returning the handcart and two barrels to the quartermaster, I asked if it was okay to return the satchel a little later and he agreed. Well, that is to say, the quartermaster explained that the deposit could be exchanged for the satchel any time within the next few days without incurring a fine. The quartermaster had been somewhat condescending, but considering I was supposed to be a big dumb brute, his pantomiming and caveman-style speech didn’t seem motivated by malice.

Returning to the inn, there were already a number of adventurers and townspeople occupying the bar and tables. So it took a few minutes to get the innkeeper Kirk’s attention.

“Ah, Tim!” Kirk waved me over to a relatively free section of the bar, “Are you ready to take care of those bathtubs? Or are you just stopping by for lunch?”

“Both,” I answered with a smile, “I would like two platters of sausages please,” I placed two coppers on the bar.

Kirk pushed one back to me, “It's alright, I know you are good for it.”

I smiled and pushed the copper back again, “These are for Toofy, to keep her occupied while I work. I will have mine after. Otherwise, there wouldn't be anything left,” I chuckled, tousling Toofy’s hair as she began poking her head out of the apron’s pouch.

Kirk nodded in understanding, “Alright, I will bring them up to your room when I have the chance. Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes,” he deftly palmed the coppers off the bar and into his coin pouch before attending to another customer.

I returned to my room and closed the door, giving Toofy a chance to stretch her legs again.

“Food?” Toofy asked with a confused look.

“Soon Toofy,” I promised, giving her the belt to chew on while we wait.

Giving the messenger satchel a gentle shake, I began to make a list of things I needed to buy for myself and Toofy. Clothes for Toofy at the very least, even if it was similar to what I am making do with. A proper coin pouch for each of us, for obvious reasons. I still wanted a sewing kit too, even if adjusting Emelia’s hand-me-downs was no longer necessary, it was still a very useful thing to have. More clean bandages and a small bottle of antiseptic from the apothecary if I can afford it.

Even though dawnmoss had antibacterial properties, it would aggravate an injury if you apply it to an open wound. Apparently, the apothecary had a process for making the antiseptic that keeps the antibacterial properties while losing the inflammation effect. It would definitely be worth buying if I could afford it. I just wished I had remembered to ask for the price while I was at the apothecary earlier.

Shoes and gloves would be nice, but I come to understand why Nadine didn’t buy them for me before. The Vrabbits had done a real number on my clothes, but my skin was completely fine. Still, it might be a good idea to get them for Toofy, she got pretty beat up after all.

Getting Toofy a club or something simple to replace her shiv would be a good idea too. Actually, that was something, maybe I could find a carpenter to make a custom toilet plank for Toofy so she wouldn’t fall into the human-sized toilets. Definitely, a mandatory purchase if I could find someone to take care of it.

For toofy: Clothes, gloves and shoes, a cheap but durable weapon, a coin purse, maybe a small backpack, and most importantly, a child-sized toilet seat.

For myself: A sewing Kit, bandages, a coin purse, antiseptic if I can afford it, a satchel to store the bandages, sewing kit and antiseptic in, and a backpack for myself wouldn’t be a bad idea either, or maybe one of those big ones used by mountain climbers and backpackers. Lastly, at least one book that could give me the opportunity to learn the written element of the local language.

Just as I finalised my list, there was a knock at the door and Kirk entered with two platters of sausages. After putting the platters down on the bed, he withdrew the room keys from his pocket and gave them to me with a smirk as he watched Toofy greedily shovel a fistful of sausages into her mouth. “I'll bet Rose would get a kick out of watching this,” Kirk chuckled, shaking his head and smiling as he left the room.

I couldn't blame him, I was working hard to stop myself from laughing as well, “Okay Toofy, I will be back in a little bit, so no leaving the room and be good alright?”

Toofy nodded but continued demolishing sausage after sausage as if her life depended on it.

It took a little longer to empty the bathtubs this time. I couldn’t just dump all the water out the window as I had before for four of the five bathtubs. There were too many people in the street, so the chances of hitting someone were too high. Instead, I borrowed the barrel to empty the bathtubs most of the way, before emptying them out of my room’s window, which was safe since no one should be back there. After emptying the tubs, I returned them and the barrels to the laundry courtyard before collecting my own lunch.

Unfortunately, I had only eaten half the sausages on my platter before Toofy finished both of hers. One look at Toofy’s big watering eyes and quivering lip made me surrender a full half of my remaining sausages.

Having finished our food, I loaded Toofy into the apron’s pouch and headed across the street to the tailor’s shop.

“Greetings customer!” The woman behind the counter waved in greeting. “How may I help you today?”

There was something off about this woman. I had noticed it last time as well but still couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Removing Toofy from my apron, I put her down on the ground, “Okay, Toofy, stay still for a bit okay?”

Toofy nodded, continuing to chew on the now somewhat ragged belt.

Shifting my attention back to the shopkeep, I tried to remember what Nadine had ordered for me when we last came here, deciding that it would be a good test. “Excuse me, do you remember the order from when I was last here?” I asked curiously.

The shopkeeper’s expression didn’t move or say anything for a moment, then suddenly blinked “One niffleweed tunic, one pair of niffleweed pants, one pair of niffleweed underwear, one bristleboar hide belt and one bristleboar hide apron,” the shopkeep replied woodenly.

I realised that it was a rather terrible test since all of those items are currently within her line of sight. I also just remembered how expensive my clothes were. Adjusting Emelia’s donated hand-me-downs definitely seemed to be the way to go after all.

“I would like to buy a basic sewing kit, please. How much will that cost?” I braced myself for the worst.

“One basic sewing kit is fifty copper coins,” the shopkeeper replied woodenly.

That was far more expensive than I had expected. “Ah, what is in the basic sewing kit?”

“One pair of small sheers, five small patches of niffleweed cloth, three bonedog sewing needles, two spools of niffleweed thread,” the shopkeeper continued staring expectantly at me without blinking.

“May I see the contents of a basic sewing kit please?” I requested politely.

“Of course,” the shopkeep nodded and a small bundle of items appeared on the counter.

“How much does a spool of niffleweed thread cost?” I asked politely, “I might want to buy more.”

“A single spool of niffleweed thread costs two copper coins,” the shopkeeper replied woodenly, the contents of the basic sewing pouch disappearing into thin air.

I thought about my options for a minute, sighed and made my decision, “I would like a basic sewing kit and five additional spools of niffleweed thread please.”

“Certainly,” the contents of the basic sewing kit reappeared on the counter along with the additional spools of thread I asked for. There was an unexpected addition though, a small cloth bag that was not brought out before.

While counting out the required number of coins, I motioned my head at the small cloth bag, “Is the bag part of the basic sewing kit?”

The shopkeeper bowed slightly and shook their head, “No. Dear customer, this niffleweed bag is complimentary. Consider it a special service for a first-time customer,” there was a palpable aura of danger around the shopkeeper now. Her movements had become far more fluid, and unlike before she now seemed keenly aware of her surroundings and of me in particular.

Now in a hurry to finish the transaction and leave, I deposited sixty copper coins onto the counter and swept the sewing supplies into the small bag. Returning Toofy to the apron’s pouch, I hurriedly left the shop. Even though I had done my best not to look, I still managed to catch a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of the shopkeeper’s face. More or less as it had been before, her lips were now curled in a predatory smile revealing needle-like teeth.

I shuddered and hurried away towards the weapon store. Wondering if she was a tamed or Enslaved monster like me and how everyone seemed fine with it being inside of their town.

The bored owner of the weapon store gave me a quick once over with his eyes, before apparently deciding I was not going to cause trouble and returned to reading his book.

I nearly cried from the desperately needed level of normalcy. I was keenly aware of my status as a monster surrounded by instruments of pain and death right now, but this shopkeeper was behaving exactly like the owner of a convenience store I frequented back home. Most importantly, he was almost definitely human and not whatever the hell the tailor was.

Walking through the rows of weapons, I easily found the area dedicated to displaying blunt weapons. It only took a moment to find what I was looking for. It was a much smaller version of my own weapon, a short thick ended club with a bound cloth grip. Objectively, it was better than my own club, but considering how small it was, using it would be impractical for me. I just hoped that the reduced size also applied to the price.

Depositing the club on the counter, I waited for the man to finish the page of his book. “Excuse me, how much is this please.”

The man glanced at the club and sighed, this was probably not even worth his time, “Two copper coins,” he replied.

I nodded, deposited two copper coins on the counter then put the small club in the pouch of my apron. Pricier than my own club had been, I could only assume that Nadine was the decisive factor for determining the difference. Leaving the store, I began exploring around town looking for a carpenter.

It took me more than a quarter-hour, but I eventually found the carpenter’s workshop. It took me so long because I honestly didn't know what to look for. In my head, what I had been thinking of was a lumberyard, which I now knew this town didn’t.

Entering the carpenter’s store, I found that the storefront was mostly empty. That made sense I suppose. The town was not very big, so there would not be enough business from selling premade furniture.

A spindly old man gave me a curious look as I approached the counter, “Can I help you?” He inquired curiously.

I nodded, “How much would it cost to make a custom-sized toilet seat?” I ask somewhat awkwardly.

The old man rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment before looking me up and down.

Quickly realising that I would need to clear up the misunderstanding, I briefly withdrew Toofy from the pouch of my apron, “Ah, it is not for me. It is for her.”

Understanding flashed in the old man’s eyes, “Oh, I was about to ask if this was for using out in the field as it were. My relief seats are usually my top seller. But I can see the problem you must be having. Hrm...” He rubbed at his chin again, “I will tell you what, you look big and strong. If you can spare an hour of labour I will make you a custom seat free of charge, how about it?”

“Alright, but what do you need me to do?” I ask, more than happy to save the money.

“I just need someone to cut some planks to size so I can finish a couple of orders early. Nothing too strenuous or difficult,” the old man explained, bringing me into his workshop area.

It was pretty much as he described. All I had to do was use the handsaw to cut premarked planks of wood. However, he really seemed to have underestimated how quickly I would get it all done, because I was finished in less than twenty minutes.

The old man was still in the process of knocking the custom toilet seat together from offcuts using glue and nailless wood joining techniques.

Rather than just idling away, I took up a broom and swept up the sawdust into a corner. I didn’t try to throw it out, because I heard back in the day butchers used the sawdust on their floor to absorb stray blood. So the old man probably had a deal with the butcher and I didn’t want to mess with that.

In the end, the old carpenter offered me a special deal, for just two coppers he would treat the toilet seat with beeswax to better protect it from the elements and daily use. Naturally, I accepted.

*****

“UUUUUUUGH!” Clarice groaned dejectedly at the sight of the packed common room, “ARE YOU SERIOUS!”

Her outburst garnered only minor attention from the adventurers near the door. However, once they noticed the source of the disturbance they promptly paid her no mind.

“I Told you that we should have stopped a little earlier,” Nadine sighed and shook her head, “Of course there was going to be a line at the Guild office around midday.”

“We can just order food to our room, so it's fine,” Emelia shrugged.

Clarice slumped dejectedly, “But I wanted a beer,” she mumbled.

“What was that?!” Nadine fiercely demanded.

Clarice baulked and raised her hands defensively, “Ah, nothing!”

“Good!” Nadine narrowed her eyes and stared knowingly at Clarice, “For a moment there I thought you were intending to spend our bath money on beer!”

Clarice gulped and guiltily avoided Nadine's gaze, “Ah...I would never...”

The three of them then approached the bar and placed their order for a platter of sausages to share and returned to their room to relax.

Nadine immediately noticed that the bathtub was gone and understood that Tim was very likely in his room or somewhere around the inn. “He really is a hardworking monster,” she muttered appreciatively.

Nadine was quite surprised by Tim’s positive work ethic. Even though he was a Slave, Nadine had no control over Tim except for what he allowed. The memory of their conversation that morning in the common room still made Nadine shiver. With a Willpower of sixteen, the effect of Emelia’s commands would be drastically reduced. While still painful, it was nowhere near the incapacitating levels of pain that normally kept tamed monsters and Slaves obedient.

It was entirely possible that once Tim became acclimated to the pain, he would just ignore it outright. This possibility would only increase as Tim gained levels and began to evolve. Granted, Ogres had only a small chance of increasing Willpower as they evolved, but even a single point would drastically reduce the level of pain inflicted by defying commands.

Nadine sighed and shook her head. There was nothing she could do about it. Nadine just had to be as nice to Tim as possible and hope that their eventual parting would be amicable. The only alternative would be to save up and buy a greater collar of enslavement and somehow trick Tim into wearing it. While he was trusting, Nadine could tell that Tim was learning at a rapid pace and by the time she could afford the greater collar of enslavement, Tim would know full well what it was and what she was intending to do with it.

There was a knock at the door and a few moments later, the innkeeper's wife Rose entered the room with their order of Vrabbit sausages. She placed the platter on the small table by the window and then turned to Nadine, “Tim has been a real help these past couple of days. Thank you for lending him to us,” Rose said appreciatively.

“But Tim is my monster though?” Emelia pointed out childishly, “Shouldn’t I be getting the credit?”

“But Nadine is party leader,” Clarice reminded her, snatching one of the sausages and hungrily taking a bite, “Beshides, gyou habent reary traed hib gyou knowb?”

Emelia gave an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms, “It’s not my fault! Tim is just too smart! How am I meant to teach him anything if he knows more than I do?!” She pouted.

Clarice gulped down the last of her first sausage and let out a satisfied sigh, “Heh, you're saying that like it's a bad thing. Think of all the benefits you're getting without actually working for it. Isn't that why you wanted to be a Monster Tamer?”

Emelia blinked and became more relaxed, “Oh yeah!” She snatched up a sausage and eagerly took a bite.

Nadine and Rose who had silently witnessed the exchange shared a knowing look.

Rose straightened her cooking apron with a practised hand, “Well, anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Kirk has agreed to expand the inn to build the bathing area. Isn’t that great news?”

Nadine smiled, “That’s great! Oh, thanks by the way. Thanks to SOMEONE, who shall remain nameless, I almost had to take a cold bath.”

Rose chuckled and nodded knowingly, “We have already placed the order for the boiler and pipes, but we need someone to help Jerry with the foundations for the expansion and possibly with carting the bricks and other materials from the Guild. Do you think Tim would be interested?”,

Nadine thought about it for a moment, “I am not sure. Tim said he is fine with most jobs, but I’ll ask him later just to make sure and get back to you, okay?”

Rose nodded appreciatively, “That is more than reasonable,” she agreed happily. Rose then left the girls to enjoy their lunch and headed back downstairs.

“Wow, so the innkeeper is really going to build those private bathing rooms?” Emelia asked happily.

Nadine nodded, “Looks that way,” she agreed.

“Pffft, hot baths are overrated,” Clarice muttered quietly, reaching for another sausage.

Filled with righteous anger, Nadine brought her pillow down on Clarice’s head with the wrath of the heavens themselves.