Pulling the sled back Eastward was not any easier after unloading; the weight of our packs had replaced that of the pelts pulling around my waist

“Once we make it to the Tavern,” Yojoti broke the silence, “I’ll give you your share of the sale. How does forty _____ sound?”

“Sorry, forty what?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure what the new word was.

“Oh, uh, ‘percent’,” he responded. “It’s a part of the whole. You know, fifty percent would be half, twenty five percent would be a quarter, and so on.”

I frowned. “That’s what I was afraid you said. Forty percent is far too much! I have been little more than a burden on your generosity since we met. I will not accept an Aso more than twenty five percent.”

“Bah, ‘burden’, he says,” Yojoti argued back. “I would have plucked you off and tossed you aside if you were such a leech. No, you were a fine companion and I’m a good enough man to reward that, even if things weren’t any easier because of it. You’ll take forty, and I’ll hear no more about it,” He finished, folding his arms across his chest.

Smacking his shoulder I shot back, “You admit it, I was a burden! As such, I have to talk you down to thirty percent, at most.”

Yojoti narrowed his eyes at me over his beard and said “Thirty five, and that’s that.”

It would probably be best not to argue further. Besides, I have absolutely no coin to my name, so why am I fighting so hard against this? I guess it was my upbringing. Boomer grandparents taught me that it was shameful to accept charity. But if it’s completely outside your control to need that charity, how is that shameful? I should just accept the gift and say “thank you”.

Which is just what I did. “Thank you, Yojoti.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” He answered, uncrossing his arms. “It’s not like I have much to spend it on besides drinks and company. Besides, neither of us will be much hurting for coin in a moment anyway.”

We had arrived back at the Civic center, rounding the Western wing. Up close, four stories was pretty impressive. Every window was open to allow a breeze in the summer heat. A guard in a simple leather vest and chaps, his hand resting on a spear, stood to one side of the door.

“Just tie the sled to the hitching post,” Yojoti said. “We won’t be very long.”

I did as he said and followed him to the door. Yojoti nodded at the guard, and I tipped my hat before following him inside.

The Civic Center interior, though out of the sun, wasn’t any cooler. A sign on a movable stand directed entrants to various departments: Tax Collector, Sheriff, Registrar, and Department of Highway Safety, to name a few. Behind the sign were various queues for the departments on the first floor, which included the DOHS. We joined the people already sweating in line, and I began to feel a little…anxious? Excited? The feeling was hard to name, but I knew it was because my mind still didn’t quite believe that I was about to be rewarded for killing a monster–straight out of an anime.

I must have been fidgeting, because Yojoti smacked my shoulder and chuckled. “Nervous?”

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“A little.” I answered, shoving my hands in my pockets to still them. “This is all new to me, you know.”

“This is no big deal,” Yojoti said. “The clerk will hardly look at you! They’ll just take the ears and hand you a form to sign, then the silver.”

“If you say so,” I responded as we stepped forward with the line.

The person ahead of us finished their business and stepped away. “Just watch, I’ll show you how it’s done,” said Yojoti as he stepped forward.

The process was exactly as he described. He slid the severed Gnoll ears across the counter, and the very polite but disinterested clerk dropped them into a bin labeled “Monster Trophies” behind him, then pulled a scroll from a shelf above the bin, turning back to Yojoti. He wrote a few things in the ledger before signing–in regular ink–and turned it around for Yojoti to do the same. While Yojoti was signing, he unlocked a drawer and pulled out a leather pouch of coin, and counted out fifty Asi to hand to Yojoti. Yojoti thanked the man, and it was my turn.

“Good afternoon,” said the clerk. “How may I help you?”

“Uh, I uh,” I stammered, “The same as him!” I managed, and pulled the Gnoll ears from my back pocket to place them on the counter.

“Name?” The clerk asked, picking up his quill.

“Trevor. Uh, Bluem, if you need the full name.”

He glanced at me a moment before returning to the scroll. “What type of monster, and where was it subjugated?”

“A Gnoll, outside my…house in the Everburn plains.”

Another glance, and a small shrug that shouted “eh, not my concern” before returning to the scroll. “One Gnoll subjugated, the reward is fifty Asi. Please sign here.”

As I bent over the scroll, the clerk again unlocked the drawer to count out the reward. “Thank you for your service, have a nice day.”

“You as well!” I said a little enthusiastically while stuffing the coins into my pockets, earning one last curious glance before the person behind me was beckoned forward.

As soon as we stepped outside, Yojoti broke into laughter loud enough to cause the guard to jump a little.

“Hahaha! It was like you were asking a girl to dance for the first time at Sowing time!” He mimed wiping a tear from his eye. “I’m glad I was around to see that.”

I untied the sled from the hitching post and looped it around my waist again in red-eared silence. It had been a long time since anyone had poked fun at me like this, and it took a bit to come up with a retort.

“I suppose you’ve watched a lot of girls be asked to dance, then?” I said as lightly as if I were commenting on the weather.

“Well yeah, it’s always more fun to w–hey now!” He backhanded my shoulder as if I had insulted him or something.

I gave him a mock offended look and groused, “I have no idea what that was for! I was only making an observation.”

Before heading on to the Smith, I stopped to take a real look at the lord’s manor. All of its windows were closed and made of glass, in contrast to those on the civic and municipal arms of the complex. To my surprise, the fourth floor windows actually all opened onto small balconies with wrought iron railings, just large enough for two chairs with a small table between them. I hadn’t been able to discern this much detail when Yojoti had first told me what the building was. Even more surprising was when I made eye contact with a dark haired woman wearing a blue summer dress sitting on one of them! She immediately and deliberately returned her gaze to the book she was holding.

Huh, must be the lady of the manor. Or one of them, anyway. Don’t nobles usually have several children? Although that’s an assumption from Earth media; Ozryn may have completely different customs. Or fertility could be an issue. You never know, I suppose.

But hot DAMN, even from four stories away I can tell she’s gorgeous. Maybe I’ll find some excuse to be around the Civic Center some more…

I turned around to find Yojoti already halfway across the drive, so I jogged to catch up.