“I’m sorry, sir. The little beast slipped right past me!”

Mousey strode into the office of the mayor of Zucker, holding in his paw Nakash’s fang, wrapped in strips of cloth made from Ermine’s hat.

The mayor was a large, brown rat, and he sat behind his desk with a quill in hand, scribbling away at various documents. Without looking up from his work, he said to his assistant, “Remove the little pest, immediately.”

The mayor’s assistant reached out a paw to grab Mousey, but Mousey again slipped past her grip and tossed the fang up on the mayor’s desk. “I insist you take a look at that before you throw me out!”

The mayor looked at Mousey, his nostrils flared with annoyance. “Don’t waste my time with your garbage.”

“Unwrap it,” said Mousey, “And tell me if you still think it’s garbage.”

The mayor bit his lip, squinted his eyes, then took the fang in paw and removed the cloth from it. His eyes widened when he saw what lay under the rags. “Is this…”

“One of Nakash’s fangs,” said Mousey with a nod. “You can tell it’s his, for the tooth still drips with his crimson venom.”

“You slew Nakash?” the mayor didn’t even bother to hide his incredulity. “Where countless others failed you somehow prevailed?”

“Would it be easier to believe he just gave it to me out of the

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kindness of his heart?” asked Mousey.

“I suppose not.” The mayor chuckled. He looked Mousey over, and his eyes found the stave in Mousey’s paw. A look of recognition crossed his face, and the rat nodded. “To think… after all this time… that serpent finally paid for his crimes. I suppose you’ll want your reward now?”

“No,” said Mousey, “All I want is this fang. For… wizard stuff.” Mousey reached up across the desk and slid the fang back into his own paws. “I only stopped here to show this to you so the citizens of Zucker will sleep easier tonight.”

The mayor snorted. “You don’t want the 10,000 grains? Truly?

If word gets out, you slew that monster but didn’t take the reward everyone’s going to assume I cheated you.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” said Mousey. “So, why not give me 200 grains, and give the rest to the city’s beggars? 200 is probably all I can carry anyway.”

“200 grains to your pocket and… oh… how many is that for the beggars?”

“9,800, sir,” said the mayor’s assistant.

“9,800…” the mayor chuckled. “I’m assuming you want it distributed evenly?”

Mousey nodded. “Yes, distribute it evenly among anyone who begs by the side of the road and anyone who sleeps without a roof over their heads. There are far too many poor beasts in Zucker.” He raised a paw and pointed it at the mayor, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed that most of them are mice like me.”

“Of course,” said the mayor, nervously scratching the back of his head. “But… you must realize, those mice can hardly defend themselves from anyone who seeks to rob them. By giving them so much money you’re making targets of them…”

“I believe Zucker has a city guard?” Mousey said. “And you command the city guard, yes?”

“More or less…”

“Then ensure that they protect the poor.” Mousey kept his voice level and calm, but with the look he gave the mayor he ensured that the rat understood the threat he implied. After all, as far as this rat

knew, Mousey had just slain a cobra who had killed countless rodents before him.

“Yes,” said the mayor, looking even more nervous. “I’ll tell the guards to protect the beggars and ensure they don’t get robbed.”

“Thank you,” said Mousey. “Now, if you don’t mind, I must be going.”