“No one move. I will not have town in an uproar because of a drunken rumor,” the man looked over the crowd quickly. “Anyone who makes a move to leave will spend the next month in jail.”

“You. Boy,” the man said returning his attention to Orn. The man started walking toward him, but kept an eye on the crowd as if daring any of them to run. “I am the king’s man in this town. You scared people here rather badly. Tell me what you saw. No lies, or exaggerations. Lying to me is the same as lying to the king. Do you understand?”

Many in the crowd seemed torn between wanting to run and wanting to listen. A few, including Burrach and his companions, eased forward until they were only a few paces behind the king’s man

When Orn nodded, the man spared a quick glare at Burrach and his friends who froze where they stood. Then turning back to Orn he continued. “I have not seen you before, so start with what brought you here.”

“I needed something to do during the holiday break, and I saw the monster hunting job in the merchant’s guild.” Orn said as the man stared at him impassively. “It paid …”

“You intend to lie to the king’s man?!” Burrach yelled cutting off Orn. The large man grabbed a small club hanging from his waist and stepped forward. The pair of men with him did the same, making threatening motions with their own clubs.

Orn’s eyes went wide and taking a step back he pulled out his knife. He quickly sized up his opponents and internally cursed at himself for leaving his sword in the bag leaning against the bar.

“BURRACH!” the king’s man yelled turning to see the men nearly on top of him.

Orn saw the king’s man hesitate for a second, before he punched Burrach. The motion was a blur to Orn as it smashed into the larger man’s face. Burrach staggered back a step his hands over where he had been struck. Blood quickly appeared from between his fingers, pouring from his broken nose. The men with Burrach stepped back watching the king’s man nervously.

“You two get rid of those,” he gestured at the clubs, which the men immediately dropped. With a quick glance back at Orn he added, “you too.”

The man then focused his attention on Burrach and his friends. The man yelled at them for daring to interrupt, while Burrach argued he was acting out of loyalty to the crown. All the while the men beside him stared at Orn menacingly.

Orn saw the implied threat and instantly discarded the idea of dropping the knife. But he was aware that holding it would likely put him on the wrong side of the king’s man. Orn continued to debate what to do, when the king’s man declared his discussion with Burrach closed. Out of time to come up with a better idea, Orn returned the knife the its sheath and hoped for the best.

The king’s man’s eyes flicked to the knife at Orns waist. He seemed genuinely shocked Orn had not dropped the knife. But the moment quickly passed and his expression turned stony. “I gave you an order. Fail to follow another one and you will not like the result.”

“He is just a boy,” Jenny interjected. “Burrach and his goons threatened him.”

“That is the only reason he his not on the ground right now,” the king’s man replied flatly. “Move your hands away from the knife.”

Orn slowly lifted his open hands to chest level, but his eyes kept flicking from the King’s man to Burrach and his friends.

“Good,” the king's man said flatly. The man’s tone did not change, but Orn could see some of the tension disappearing from him. “So you went to the merchant’s guild.”

Orn nodded. “I saw the job to track and kill monsters in the area.”

“And you just decided it would be a fun thing to do.” The king’s man countered raising an eyebrow. “They just let you take the job?”

“No, I was worried that they would not let me,” Orn began only to be cut off.

“With good reason!” Jenny interjected. “That was a reckless thing to do.”

“The job said they were probably goblins,” Orn countered, and glanced over to her. “We hunt them all the time back home.”

“I do not care,” the king's man said making a gesture to forestall whatever Jenny was about to say. “I find it hard to believe that anyone takes a child to hunt monsters, let alone frequently. Do not start,” he said as Orn opened his mouth object. “I have neither the time nor the patience for your explanation. You saw a job to hunt monsters, and came here. Then what happened?”

“Yes, and after spending a night here, I headed west,” Orn related his trip west of town and finding the skeleton. The mention of the remains caused an older man to cry out. A few of those around him tried to console him, and the king’s man gestured towards the door.

“Keep going,” the king’s man drew Orn’s attention away from the pair of men leading the distraught man out.

Orn continued to relate what happened up to the point the goblin mother ate the hob’s corpse.

“And that was when you got away,” the king’s man supplied, before Orn could continue. The older man’s expression quickly changing from irritation to worry. “You are very lucky it did not notice you, or it would have attacked you.”

“It did,” Orn said causing the man’s expression to turn to one of horror.

“What?! Did it follow you?!” for the first time, the king’s man looked afraid.

“No,” Orn said shaking his head. “I killed it.”

The king’s man’s expression once more turned stony. “I told you not to lie to me,” he growled.

“I am not lying!” Orn protested and stepped toward his bag.

The king’s man quickly stepped into his path, his hand falling to the long thin dagger at his side. “Where do you think you are going?”

“My proof is in my bag,” Orn said pointing at where it lay by the bar.

“There would not happen to be a sword in that bag, would there?” the man said after giving the bag a quick glance.

“There is,” Orn admitted, meeting the man’s glare with his own. “It is under the cloak with my proof wrapped in it.”

“Step back,” the older man said meeting Orn’s gaze without flinching. “I will check the bag.”

Once Orn took a couple steps back, the man nodded and turned to the bag. “Wrapped in the cloak, correct?”

“Yes,” Orn replied as the man deftly loosened the cord holding the top shut with one hand.

With the treads released, the top of the gray wool cloak protruded from the bag. The king's man’s hand never left the grip of his knife, and he always kept Orn in his field of view. “I am very interested to see your proof.”

The king’s man lifted the bundle and unceremoniously dropped it on the bar. In two quick motions of his free hand, he pulled enough of the cloak away to reveal the beast stone. The man paused to look at the stone before moving the other parts of the cloak to reveal the monster’s right ear. The man stared at the grisly trophy. “Merciful goddess,” he muttered in a half whisper.

Orn watched the braver members in the crowd tried to move closer so they could see what lay on the bar. Jenny and her husband seemed torn between staring a the grisly trophy and Orn.

The king’s man’s hand released the dagger at this waist and turned to focus on Orn. The man looked Orn over carefully. “I do not see a scratch on you,” the man said his expression searching.

“You do not,” Orn replied flatly as the king’s man shifted a bit in response. It was as if he trying to gain more distance from a dangerous animal.

Good. Orn thought, I have had enough of you yelling at me.

By stepping aside the king’s man made the ear visible to most of the room. Several people began to mutter about what they were seeing, but Orn was focused on the large man holding his broken nose.

“I was going to take it to the merchant’s guild, but I think I would rather be paid here,” Orn said glaring up at the large man. Who for the first time seemed speechless.

Before Burrach could regain himself the king’s man interjected. “You will have to sort it out with the guild. They handle all payments.”

“I would rather be paid here,” Orn said pointing at Burrach. “He was talking about 20 gold. The guild only offered eight.”

“And people say I cause chaos,” Kao said appearing next to him, as pandemonium broke loose.