{Arthur's POV}

Arthur was going to do it. He would save any innocents inside this tower, take the bandit's treasure, and come back to the town and get his spells! But there was one problem... Arthur was too big for the door. The tower itself was shorter than Arthur when he drew himself to his full height, about 20 feet tall, 15 feet wide. He circled it once, finding only one doorway and a spiraling staircase leading down on the top of it.

Arthur pondered on what to do. There was no sound coming from inside the tower, but he was pretty sure the Bugbears were inside it. He decided to say something, perhaps intimidate whoever was in there to come out. "If you do not come out of this tower, I will burn it to cinders with you all still inside. Come out and I may spare you!"

Arthur did his best impression of what he thought a red dragon would say, putting a snarl in his words for the extra effect. He sat 15 feet away from the door, waiting to see if it worked. After a moment he heard shuffling and the door was pushed open to reveal a bugbear being shoved out by another one. The door was slammed shut after the bugbear was outside.

The bugbear looked up slowly at Arthur, who was waiting for the bugbear to say something. "W-we surrender to dragon! Dragon is strong! We apologize!" The bugbear did a clumsy bow and stood like that, seemingly sweating.

"I want every bugbear outside in front of me." The one in front of him looked up, nodding and saying

"Ok, ill tell them!" He shouted something in another language, probably goblin if Arthur had to guess, and the door opened once more and 7 more bugbears shuffled out to stand next to the original bugbear one by one, looking pensively towards him.

Arthur tried to recall what he knew about bugbears. They were more cunning than they looked, they prized surprise attacks, were good hunters, and they believed in destruction and strength above all else. Those tidbits seemed like the most important. They didn't seem hostile and were listening to him, so he saw no reason to kill them yet. They were all standing in a group, not saying anything and just kind of standing there looking at Arthur.

Arthur gathered his thoughts and looked down at the bugbears and said, "You will all listen to me from this point forward. Bring everything of value that's inside this tower to me." There was a moment of hesitation as all the bugbears glanced at each other, so Arthur growled out, "NOW." That got them moving.

The bugbears rushed inside and started hauling things out. small boxes of wine, spices, and silk were the first to come out, which the bugbears set in piles in front of Arthur. All of them seemed expensive. Bundles of weapons came out next and were propped up against the boxes, as well as multiple bags of gold. Arthur inspected each item with a keen eye and found that his brain automatically valued each item to within a copper piece. Every time he picked a bag of gold up and measured it, he could simply tell how much was in it. Must be his dragon instincts he supposed.

As he was delicately considering a crate of wine in his claws, which seemed surprisingly expensive, a goblin walked into Arthur's vision, coming to the left of him, followed by 7 more goblins. Arthur turned his head to look at them with a perplexed expression. They immediately stopped when he looked at them, groveling instantly. The one leading the group squeaked out, "Dragon make bugbears listen. Dragon strong. Dragon new boss! Dragon protect us!" The other goblins started chittering agreements and praise. Arthur had honestly forgotten about the goblins. But if they wanted to follow his orders, who was he to deny?

"If you want to make me your 'boss', then make yourselves useful. Go.. loot every tent here of any valuables, and make a pile of it all in the middle of the camp." Arthur boomed, which the goblins chittered excitedly and enthusiastically set off to pillage their own camp. Arthur shook his head and turned back to the bugbears, who seemed to be finishing up. Arthur estimated there were about 4000 gold pieces of stuff in front of him, give or take. The bugbears stood around, talking to each other in goblin. Arthur remembered the 2 orcs who fell to their knees and looked around to see if they were still around. They were not.

The goblins seemed to be making good progress, there was a nice pile of random knick-knacks and pocket-sized pouches which probably contained coins in the middle of the camp. Arthur pondered on his next move. He defeated the bandits, and now he had a bunch of stuff he couldn't carry back to the town. Arthur spoke up to the bugbears and asked, "Did your leader have a cart of any sort around here?" One bugbear spoke up and said,

"Old boss had a secret hideout, and I thinks he had a cart parked outside it."

"Perfect, I want 5 of you to go there and bring back the cart, and also anything of value." The bugbear nodded and pointed at 4 other bugbears to follow him, and they set off towards the treeline. Arthur wasn't used to bossing others around, but it felt easier the more he did it.

Arthur remembered that the quest mentioned these guys kidnapping people, and he turned to the remaining bugbears and said, "What do you do with the humans you kidnap? spare no detail." The bugbears shrank back at Arthurs withering gaze and one piped out,

"Old boss took em to his hideout and when e' comes back they ain't with em anymore. That's all I know, swear!" He added the last bit when Arthur started to vent steam out of his nostrils. What did he do with them? Sell them somewhere? Is that why he had a cart there, to put them on it and go somewhere with them perhaps? Arthur was perplexed by this behavior.

Ah well. All will be answered within time. While waiting for the bugbears to come back, the goblin group approached once more and their leader chittered, "All goodies are there for you, sire!" Arthur stood up, stretching his legs and back briefly before treading down the hill to the pile of things in the middle of the tents.

The goblins weren't picky about what could be considered valuable, as there were all sorts of things in front of him. Weapons, wineskins, unopened bottles of ale, a multitude of small pouches, arrow quivers, hunting bows, and bedrolls were strewn about in one big pile. Sigh. The goblins could have done it a bit more neatly, but they did the job.

He turned to the goblins who seemed to be holding a collective breath, nodding once and stating, "Well done." The goblins breathed a sigh of relief and promptly fell over themselves to thank him, bowing profusely. Some even had tears of joy! Shaking his head at their antics, he said,

"I want these tents as well. Roll them up NEATLY and put them in the pile." The goblins nodded and immediately got to work, going as pairs to take the tents down. Goblins, he thought briefly before going back to the bugbears and ordering them,

"I want these boxes tied together with rope to make them more manageable, tie each box to the same type of each other, got it?"

The bugbears said their confirmations and went back inside the tower to get rope. Arthur nodded in satisfaction and watched the goblins, who were trying to figure out how to roll up the tents and make them neat at the same time, which was amusing he had to admit. He remembered the dead bodies of the orcs and shouted to the goblins, "Loot those corpses as well, I forgot about them. Add anything to the pile." They chittered their confirmations and moved to do so. Truly no empathy with these creatures about their former comrades, though they did make good henchmen.

Arthur's keen eyes abruptly spotted something moving in the tree line, an approaching figure who as they got closer he realized it was the satyr, Alek. As he came into the field Alek spotted him and shouted, "Hey Arthur! Looks like you-ohmygods goblins!" The goblins chittered menacingly, pulling out knives and brandishing them at Alek. Arthur started to approach Alek and said,

"Stand down. This is my companion. Get back to it!" The goblins cringed back at his words, mumbling apologies and getting back to their tasks.

"Oh, they listen to you? Neat. I think the town master will be pretty happy with this, and I was also wondering if I could uhh, work under you for a while? I don't think the town is too pleased with me right now, hehe." Chuckling nervously, he looked at Arthur with an expression of apprehension, awaiting his response. Arthur replied almost immediately,

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"If you don't feel safe living in the town, I could fly you to another one if you would like. You do not have to 'work' for me if you don't desire to." Alek considered his offer for a few seconds before he firmly replied,

"I think I'd like to stay with you for the time being. Thank you for the offer though, that's very generous of you." Arthur felt warm inside, well, warmer than what he already was, that Alek seemed to WANT to stay around him. For whatever reasons, he wasn't sure of it, but he felt warmed by it anyways.

With a smile, he said, "If that's what you wish, I am fine with it." Alek slightly paled and Arthur realized he was showing off his teeth again. He stopped and said, "These goblins and bugbears call me their boss now. If they step out of line, I won't hesitate to kill them, but for now, they've proven themselves useful."

"Uhm, that should be no biggie, as long as they listen to you everyone should be fine with it. When do you plan on heading back?" Alek said, watching the goblins and bugbears. At this point, Arthur was walking back to the tower with Alek in tow.

"I sent a squad of bugbears to return with a cart their orc boss had stashed. I plan on waiting until they get back and loading up all of these things onto it, and then heading back to the town. I will get my magic scrolls and probably head straight to my lair after." Alek nodded and said,

"Alright, I suppose ill wait with you then."

What followed was Arthur and Alek sitting around for 10 minutes, in the middle of which the bugbears finished sorting and tieing up the boxes, which Arthur then told them to go and sort out the pile that the goblins made. One of them grumbled something as they walked down the hill, to which Arthur casually swiped at, causing them to tumble the rest of the way. He didn't grumble a second time, getting to work.

Finally, Arthur heard rustling and saw the bugbears walk out of the treeline in tow with a cart pulled by 2 horses. The cart looked simple, made of wood, and should easily fit all of Arthur's loot if he stacked some on top of each other, and made the bugbears carry some of it. One of the bugbears was sitting on the cart, steering the horses.

As they drew closer he observed there was jewelry strewn about in the cart, along with some more bags of gold pieces. Arthur then realized there were only three bugbears, and he sent out five of them. When they were about 40 feet away he drew himself up and said, "There are only three of you. Where are the remaining two?" The bugbear in the front shouted back

"They are just behind us sire! There escorting some people!" Arthur was about to ask what he meant when Alek pointed and said, "I think I see them!"

He looked back to the treeline and did indeed see a bugbear walking out into the open, followed by a human woman clad in manacles, wearing a dirty tunic. Arthur's mind clicked together what the bugbear meant by some people. four more women followed quickly behind the first, all wearing similar dirty tunics and shell-shocked expressions, all of them having a 100-yard stare. The last bugbear was behind them.

Arthur moved towards them, intent on speaking to them. Which made all of the prisoners look up, quickly replacing their shock with fear, the one in the back tripping on their own feet and slowing. The bugbear behind them pushed them forward to speed them up just as Arthur was within 15 feet of them. Arthur growled, backhanding the bugbear that pushed the poor woman, sending the bugbear to the ground.

"All of you will not lay a finger on these humans, or I will tear you ALL apart. Understand?" The bugbear nodded meekly, still on the ground. Arthur snorted smoke, stating,

"Good. Now take these chains off of them."

The humans were standing in silence, with shock back on their faces, while the two bugbears begrudgingly went through each woman's manacles one by one, helping each other and brute-forcing the apparently rusty manacles open. After they were finished, each person rubbing their red wrists and staring at the dragon, Arthur stated

"I am on a quest from the town of Mirfield. You are under my protection from now on. I will load up my cart and we will head out as soon as possible." Arthur paused to gauge their reactions. Some seemed distrustful and fearful of him, and the others were still in shock. Sigh.

"Bugbears! Load up everything into the cart! Quickly! Carry anything that won't fit, and leave everything else behind! Goblins, assist them!"

All of his new minions yelled out confirmation and began hustling around, picking things up and moving towards the cart. Arthur turned back to the Ex-prisoners, who had clustered together and whispering to each other. Alek approached and said to Arthur,

"Don't worry, ill take care of them." Arthur thought that was a good idea and nodded his thanks, before moving to instruct his minions. Alek seemed to be quite the smooth talker and the women were seemingly less on guard and more relaxed, though not by a huge margin.

It took only a couple of minutes and a few mishaps to properly stuff everything onto the cart, most of the bugbears carrying things like bedrolls and tents strapped to their backs with rope. They were finally ready to set out. He approached the group of humans and Alek, who he overheard saying,

"Just a road trip away and you will all be safe. And I think we're ready now." He said when he saw Arthur approaching.

"Indeed, we are done loading everything and are ready to set out. Can they all walk to town without any trouble?" He directed the question towards Alek, who repeated it to the group and getting quiet or meek confirmations. It seemed Arthur still frightened them. He understood trust was naturally slow to earn and could be torn down in an instant, and he understood why they would act like this, but he couldn't help but feel slightly wounded.

Nodding once after they all agreed they could walk the distance, Arthur turned back and said in an authoritative voice to his goblinoid lackeys, "We march now back to town. Who here knows the quickest way to get there?" Multiple confirmations came from the bugbears, and Arthur said,

"Those who know the way will lead. We leave now! One bugbear man the cart!" The group was a flurry of movement for a few seconds while everyone got ready to walk, and the human group led by Alek walked behind the cart as it started to slowly go forward, bogged down by all of its cargo.

Arthur himself slowly walked about 15 feet behind Alek's group, watching his minions to make sure they weren't up to any trouble. The bugbears showed them a path that was travel-worn and big enough for the cart, following it most of the way. After around half an hour, the group only stopping twice throughout the whole trip, first because one of the cart's wheels fell in a pothole, which Arthur picked up and set back effortlessly, the second because the group was attacked by five twig blights, which were crushed by Arthur and the bugbears morningstars almost instantly.

They finally entered the big clearing that surrounded the town of Mirfield. Arthur spotted guards in watchtowers spotting them and climbing down out of sight. Arthur went to the very front of the group and saying, "Bugbears and goblins, wait back here. I will call for you if I have need of you."

The goblins immediately sat down at his words, exhausted. The bugbears followed suit, albeit in a more dignified manner. The one bugbear steering the cart horses slowed the horses to a stop and hopped off, stretching. The five Ex-prisoners slowly followed behind Arthur, and Alek right behind him as well. Arthur came in front of the metal gate, sitting down and waiting.

A few moments later the town master was hurrying towards the metal gate, saying as soon as he gets within 10 feet of the gate,

"His Highness comes back triumphant I see! And oh my, are these the kidnapees of those detestable bandits? Guards, let them in immediately and prepare them food and clothing!" The town master says as the group approaches the gate, led by Alek. The guards rushed to open the gate, allowing the women to lean on them as they carried them away to safety. Alek waved goodbye with a sad smile.

"I have slain the bandit leader, and many of his lackeys now serve me instead. I believe the reward was 500 gold pieces? And I would also like to trade items I looted in exchange for gold as well." Arthur boomed out, looking at the town master. He nodded vigorously, saying,

"Of course, of course! His highness will have his gold momentarily!" He motioned one guard who jogged somewhere into town, coming back after a minute with a sack filled to the brim with gold.

At that point, Alek had pulled the cart up to Arthur who was taking out all of the boxes of spices and wine and food, which a couple of guards brought inside in a pile. Arthur also rooted out the jewelry he got from the hideout and most of the bundles of weapons, keeping the rest for himself. Arthur reached over the walls and took the bag of gold the guard was shakingly holding out gingerly between two claws, careful not to rip it and set it inside the cart.

Arthur nodded his thanks and said, "I will sell all of that to you for.. 2000 gold pieces." The amount of stuff there was probably worth more than twice that, but Arthur understood this town probably had a limited amount of gold to spare, plus he wanted them to like him more, thus his generous price tag. The town master thanked him profusely for being so generous, which Arthur shut down and explained again that he wasn't like others of his kind, which a more subdued town master thanked once more before standing in silence, waiting for the guard. They came back a minute later, hefting four large sacks filled to the brim with gold pieces. The guard set them on the ground, panting a little as they backed away. Arthur again picked them up over the wall one by one and set them in the cart.

"One last thing, town master. My spell scrolls." Arthur turned back to the town master as he said this. He replied,

"Ah yes of course! Ahm, what spells would his Highness like?" Arthur pondered for a moment and told him. The town master nodded, smiling, and sent yet another guard to fetch the things he asked for. Arthur forked over the required gold after insisting, which the town master took with a nod of thanks. After an agonizing minute, Arthur finally had his spell scrolls, which he gingerly stored on the cart.

"That will be all, town master. I thank you for everything. I will take my leave now." Arthur dipped his head towards the town master, who bowed silently. "Bugbears, goblins, we are departing for my home! Prepare the cart!"

Arthur could get used to these guys, he thought, as they scrambled to stand and do as he said.