Jerome waited a little farther outside of town this time to catch his new body.

Who would few gnolls know, but many gnolls trust? If he got access to the King’s quarters that would be even better, but all the soldiers that ran by were in groups, and any concubines the king kept would probably be cloistered in his quarters, not walking the road on their own. In fact, he didn’t see any women walking the road.

That was one of his knowledge goals this trip: figure out where all the women and children were kept. He hadn’t recalled seeing any. Older gnolls were few and far between as well.

So Jerome grabbed a middle-aged male who didn’t seem to be in a hurry. He couldn’t tell what the thing’s profession was, but that sort of knowledge deficit could be fixed. In fact, if he played his cards right, he could get this one to tell him all sorts of things before he even entered the city.

“What’s your profession?” Jerome asked.

“You’re a human!” it spat. “Why would you want to know? Aren’t you going to kill me without a second thought?”

“I want to understand your society. If you talk to me, I’ll let you live.”

The gnoll glared at Jerome, untrusting. “I won’t tell you anything secret.”

“Did I just mention that I’d kill you if you refused?”

“They’ll do worse,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What exactly is worse than killing?”

“By my brother’s crystal, you’re worse than a level 1.”

No one said he needed to have good rapport with the gnoll, as long as it talked. “Tell me more about these crystals.”

It looked at him in disbelief. “You don’t know about the crystals? They’re… you know what, just, if you find one, then sell it to the king. That’s all you need to know. Or sell it to some other gnoll, since there’s no way you’re getting in the king’s presence.”

“You’re going to tell me more about the crystals.”

The gnoll started screaming. “Help!” it shouted. “Human!”

Jerome killed it quickly, hid its body in the underbrush, then took its form. It was just quick enough: two other gnolls ran in right after he finished hiding it.

“Where’s the human?” they asked breathlessly. “We are here to help our brother.”

He could have easily taken on both of them, but he remembered Krystyna’s no-genocide rule. Well, more of a guideline. A no-genocide-without-a-very-very-good-reason guideline.

“A false alarm! I was scared by a passing beast and thought it was a human. But, I knew my error when it, uh…” Jerome racked his brain for how gnolls described humans. “When it wasn’t very smelly,” he concluded.

“Ay, that’s too bad,” said one of the gnolls. “I’d like to get some of what the king’s offering for a live human.”

This was his chance to get information! “Same here,” he said as nonchalantly as he could. “That money would sure be nice. I just wish I knew why he wanted them so bad.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Who cares why he wants them? They’re to make our kingdom stronger, and they’re to line my purse. Same with the crystals.”

“So no one knows what the crystals are for?”

The gnoll looked at him strangely. “Are you a level 1? Everyone knows what the crystals are for.”

“Uh, I…”

“Is that fresh blood on your arm? I thought you said it was a false alarm…” The gnoll wiped away the bright green splotch, only to discover no wound below it. “Is that someone else’s blood?”

“That it is,” said the second gnoll, who had been wandering around and sniffing while Jerome concentrated on his conversation with the first. “We’ve got ourselves a killing bandit.”

“You called us here to take our crystals?” the first asked in disbelief. “I would expect it of one of those tribal gnolls, but you… I could have sworn I’ve seen you in town before. Have you been scoping us out? Selling us back our own crystals?”

“I knew we shouldn’t wipe them all without checking,” said the second. “It opens up space for scum like this to operate.”

“Well, let’s kill him and take both the crystals.” He looked between the dead body and Jerome. “Hey wait… they’re the same!”

The battle began, then just as quickly ended. They weren’t warriors. His new form wasn’t a warrior either, and he felt the loss of stats, but the training and skills of his base form meant that taking on these two was still absurdly easy. He snapped the neck of the first, then held the second for questioning.

“How are you so strong?” It asked. “How are you identical to the body on the ground?”

“I’m asking the questions. What’s your profession?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, why would I not be serious?”

“You must be outer tribe scum. No culture. It’s clear you’re going to kill me anyways, so just get it over with.”

“I’m not going to kill you if you answer my questions!”

“Yeah, right. I see the two bodies over there.”

“They weren’t answering my questions.” Getting any info out of these things was really annoying. “First, an easy one. Do you have any appointments today? Anybody who expects you to be somewhere?”

“Not until tonight! And why—”

“Don’t ask why, just answer. What is your profession?”

“I’m a gatherer. I get ingredients for herbalists and cooks. Look at my clothes, come on!”

“Good. We’re making progress. Now, what are the crystals used for?”

“Throw my crystal into the sea, why don’t you? There’s a reason I signed up for gathering, not for teaching the level 1s.”

“Level 1s. Where do they come from?”

“You… you’re a human aren’t you? You’re the human who can change forms! I had friends that lost memories because of you! I hope you die and you never ever respawn. I hope the elves acid-wash you into oblivion. I hope—”

“If you don’t answer my question, I’ll kill you.”

“Better to die than to give you more tools to fight us with. For Katani! For—”

Jerome snapped its neck.

Clearly he’d have to pretend to know what crystals were for or he’d risk being found out as a human. Gnolls from the capital were expected to know how various professions dressed, but an outer tribe gnoll wasn’t expected to know that. However, asking about what crystals did had given him away immediately. So all gnolls were expected to know what the king wanted to do with the crystals.

There was a clue there somewhere.

To know more he’d have to get inside the city and find a place to question some more gnolls. Maybe in a more friendly manner.

Maybe… at a bar? Jerome’s heart leapt.

Alchohol!

For the first time in what seemed like forever, alcohol!

This was going to be great!