The next day I awoke alone. I looked around at my room as the light beamed in from the window. It has been a while since I have been so glad to just be in my room. The quiet was pleasant… it gave me time to think… think about… well… everything really.

  How in the world do I fix this? My mother is going to have to move her business to Vardan because nobody in Kataravonia will deal with her now… her farm hand has left… even if I stop adventuring and go back to helping out on the farm, it is only a matter of time before the people in Vardan find out about me and stop dealing with my mother as well. I just… I don’t know what to do…

  Suddenly the door burst open and Kiyui came in holding a plate.

  Kiyui: “Wakey wakey. I made you some toast! Oh, you’re already awake. Good morning.”

  He smiled at me in such an innocent way. As he did, I noticed him wearing an ill-fitting pair of dungarees. They were clearly way too big for him. He was using a scraggy piece of rope as a belt to reduce the bagginess.

  Kiyui: “Your mum gave me some of her old dungarees. I figured if I’m going to be helping out around here, I may as well look the part.”

  He smiled at me again… I couldn’t help but laugh. They did not suit him at all; he does not lend himself to the country bumpkin look very well.

  Kiyui: “What’s so funny? Don’t you think I’ll be any good?”

  Bless him, he’s so insecure about such random things. I appreciate the irony of that coming from me… but unlike me, he has no reason to be.

  Dwynfel: “You’ll be great, Kiyui. It’s just not a look that I really expected from you.”

  Kiyui: “You really think I’ll be alright?”

  Dwynfel: “Trust me, you’ll pick it up quickly. You’re a pretty quick learner from what I’ve seen.”

  He placed the plate down on the side table, brought his hand to his chest and bowed.

  Kiyui: “Thank you for the compliment.”

  Is he seriously bowing to a goblin right now? Honestly, is he oblivious to how the world works or something?

  Kiyui: “You ready for your breakfast?”

  He fed me my breakfast, which I am still getting used to. Being fed is weird… and having Kiyui act as some kind of nurse maid is even more weird. Not that he is bad at it… quite the opposite. I’m just, not used to relying on people in this way.

  Later in the morning Agaroth & Phoenix popped by to cast healing and paralysis on my arms again. They said that they are going to keep looking around for any odd jobs that they may be able to pick up to keep on top of things until their suspensions are lifted. They seemed optimistic about things improving and apparently my arms are coming along nicely… not that I can feel them with this paralysis spell on them.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  After they left, I began watching Kiyui and my mum from the window in my room. It was a sunny but relatively cold day; I could feel the breeze on my face. My mum was teaching Kiyui how to milk the cows. Which he picked up very quickly.

  It was quite funny seeing him sat on the little milking stool. I guess I’m just not used to seeing him outside of an adventuring context. He tries so hard at everything he does… it is quite admirable really. Now that I’ve ruined his adventuring career, I wonder if he’ll go into farming… it has to be better than being a prostitute. That being said… he would probably make more money doing the latter.

  Suddenly I heard the back door opening. My mother and Kiyui were visible from my window… so it couldn’t be them… we weren’t expecting anybody.

  Voice 1: “You really think this is the place?”

  Voice 2: “It’s the only farm round ‘ere.”

  The two voices were rough and deep. Nobody that I knew. I panicked and hid under my bed. Which is hard to do when you can’t move your arms. I just kind of had to flop to the floor and shuffle under. The two people began to move closer to my room.

  Voice 1: “I don’t know Lou, this place don’t really look like a goblin’s home.”

  Lou: “They’s hardly gonna have oil paintings of him all over, are they? What was you expecting?”

  They entered my room… their boots were dirty and worn. They clearly hadn’t had new ones in a long time. The bottoms of their trousers were trailing along the ground. They mustn’t have been able to afford to buy things new, they must be cast offs from others.

  Voice 1: “Well now this is what I mean. Look at all these books. Goblins can’t read, why would this room be full of books?”

  Lou: “To throw people off the scent.”

  Voice 1: “Oh come on, look at this… it’s a teddy. A goblin isn’t gonna have a teddy.”

  Lou: “How the fuck do you know? How many goblin’s bedrooms have you seen?”

  Voice 1: “But it’s a teddy… look at it.”

  Lou: “Yeah… it’s a teddy. And look at it… its fucked. The nose is half bitten off and it’s missing an eye. If a goblin did have a teddy, it would probably do that to it!”

  Suddenly Lou started screaming.

  Indira: “There is a water butt outside and to the left of the back door… I suggest you hurry before your skin gets too badly burned!”

  Lou ran out of the room… as he did, I caught sight of flames coming from his back. Where the hell did that fire come from?

  Indira: “You! Drop the teddy and get the fuck out of my house!”

  I saw Bergy drop on the floor and the other man made a swift exit.

  Indira: “Dwyn? You alright?”

  I shuffled out from under the bed to see my mother holding a fireball in her hand. What the hell… is she a mage… seriously?

  Dwynfel: “Since when were you a mage?”

  Indira: “I was a mage long before I was a farmer, Dwyn. Any idea who those two were?”

  Dwynfel: “No idea… but they were definitely looking for me.”

  Indira: “Well, hopefully that will scare them off long enough for you to recover.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sorry, Mum. I’ve ruined everything. If I hadn’t screwed up, then strange men wouldn’t be breaking into our home.”

  Indira: “Don’t be silly, Dwyn. Strange men break into people’s homes all the time. I’ve fought off idiots before and I can do it again.”

  Dwynfel: “Don’t try to make me feel better… I know I screwed up.”

  Indira: “It’s nothing we can’t handle.”