Scritch’s busy fingers roved the mechanisms and parts of the arbalest one by one with metallic plinks of sound intermingled with twangs and tapping. Her tiny claws had a lot to offer the complex features.

When she started, the thing looked as she’d found it, disused and neglected. As it stood now, it was beginning to have a patina of its old self on it. She picked dirt from between pinnings and inlay and it seemed to be a pretty decent little weapon.

“Where’d you get that?” Leoric asked.

“Found it,” She said as she sighted the rail and picked a little bit more at the handle.

“Any good with it?”

“She exploded a bird with it,” Blast said as her little head peered in from upside down at the mouth of the wagon.

“Yah,” Scritch said as she pulled back the string with a metallic plinking noise of warning and scrambled out of the wagon, much like Blast had, climbing onto the roof. Leoric looked up as the canvas sagged from her weight. He heard a few plinking noises, a click and a carefully measured silence before the arbalest disengaged and a stifled squawk was heard.

She scrambled to jump from the slowly moving wagon and ran through the dust.

“What’s she on about now?” Baldir asked, slowing down the mule as scritch ran off after her catch.

“She shot a bird,” Leoric said.

“From a moving wagon?” Baldir asked as his brows rose a fraction of an inch.

“A very slow moving wagon,” Blast corrected as Scritch ran back with a rather ragged looking crow. She was making excited little grunts and pants as she did so. Blast looked at the carrion creature with disdain.

“You couldn’t get a duck or a chicken?” Blast grumbled. Scritch shrugged as she entered the wagon with Blast crawling in after her.

“Can we go now?” Baldir grumbled.

“Yep. Got Blast a snack,” Scritch said as wet crunching noises sounded from the roof of the wagon. Scritch climbed to the edge and slid down the frame of it to fall to the seat next to Baldir with a tumble and thud.

He looked over at her as she righted herself and looked up at him. Her eyes and head were a little big compared to the Kobolds he’d seen. At first, he’d blamed it on her particular tribe, but the more he looked, the more he was coming to terms with the fact that she was a child by their standards. It made a lot of her antics more excusable. He wondered what she’d look like as she got older and if she’d get any more annoying.

-

On the horizon of the next hill, the town they sought out became more distinctive and visible. Smoke rose from chimneys even in the heat of the day. It was a welcome sight and Baldir was practically salivating for a drink, despite the flask at his hip nearing empty.

“Since we’ve got sheets, we can probably go to their church and find the latest postings for jobs to earn some coin. We’ve got a lot to save up for if we want to make the trip to Mitznil,” Leoric mused.

“Wait, we’re going to Mitznil?” Baldir asked.

“That’s our best place to start. They’re the only human nation that exports sheep, and only one cave system out that way with dragon inhabitants,” Leoric muttered.

“What if it’s inhabited by someone else?” Baldir said with a little worry.

“Then we find somewhere else. It’s just a good place to start. We’re following breadcrumb trails at this point because the gods are involved,” Leoric said with a huff and a nervous glance towards the sky.

Leoric’s eyes unfocused a second.

“The gods sending you a message?”

“Yeah, my temporary effect is expired,” he said with a grin and sigh of relief.

“That’s good. Means we can get some work sooner. Now, how long of a journey are we talking to get to Mitznil?”

“Probably six months, five if we make haste. I think we could do it in three if we didn’t work any at all.” Leoric grumbled as he tugged at his beard.

“That’ll put us in springtime getting there when the snowmelt is coming off.”

“Hopefully.”

“Scrtich?” Leoric asked.

She peeked her head over the edge of the wagon’s roof with a crow’s wing hanging from her mouth. A sharp little crunch emanated from above. A curious warble sounded from her throat.

“Do you have enough bolts for your arbalest?” Leoric asked.

“I have three,” Scritch said, as if that were plenty.

“Okay, we need to get her ammunition before we go.” Leoric eyed one of the bolts laying beside them. It had blood from the crow still on it and it looked worse for the wear. The metal was rusted, the feathers were there only in spirit and the tip of it was bent. Despite it all, she’d fired and retrieved it quite easily.

-

The city was bustling. Smells and noises overwhelmed the two reptile’s senses as foods and people wandered by, paying no mind to the large-eyed kobold peering down curiously from the roof of the wagon.

Bedraggled humans bustled about with carts of food, smoked meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. It was easy to forget that summer was coming to an end, soon.

“What’re those?” Scritch asked quietly to blast who watched from over her shoulder with shrewd eyes.

“Those are apples,” Blast said as the woman hoisting the cart dug hobnailed boots into the grit of the street to carry it over uneven cobbles.

“Can you eat them?” Scritch asked.

“You can.”

“What do they taste like?”

“Sweet, wet, sticky things that catch in your teeth,” Blast said unpleasantly.

“I want one,” Scritch said softly as her eyes went large.

Leoric cocked his head a little to eavesdrop and thought about scritch eating an apple. It either involved swallowing it whole or smacking obnoxiously on it for far too long. He shuddered and made a note to avoid it.

Every city had a center. This, like most, were centered around a courthouse and a church. The local deity? Nobody cared.

“He who holds the balls, controls the quest,” Baldir announced as they pulled into a busy merchant street towards an allocated parking and feeding lot.

“Don’t be crude!” Leoric said as he fished in his pouch.

Blast perked her head to the sound of Leoric’s pouch rustling. She scampered down the side of the wagon and ran in circles around his feet, chuffing excitedly.

“HAPPYGRASS-HAPPYGRASS-HAPPYGRASS,” She said with excited chitters as bits of straw kicked up at her feet.

Scritch leaned over the edge of the wagon’s roof and looked down with eager eyes.

“Say it a little louder why don’t you!? You’re going to get me arrested,” Leoric whispered to Blast.

“Leoric. Nobody speaks draconic,” Baldir said with a sigh.

“YOU know what it means. I know what it means. There’s bound to be others,” Leoric said.

“I’ve heard her say that word a million times now, ‘grrkl rah’,” Baldir said with a grumble as he dumped the last drizzle of eye-watering content from his flask.

Blast looked over with an indignant chitter and outrage in her posture. Leoric cringed.

Scritch gasped, “You said a bad word.”

“I was trying to say happy grass! What did I say?” Baldir said with incredulity.

Scritch put her hands over her mouth and shook her head. Blast squinted at him angrily.

“Okay okay! Sheesh,” Baldir said before rummaging through their things for a refill of whatever was in his flask.

“You ought to go brush your teeth after saying that one,” Leoric muttered.

Baldir waved his hand dismissively and celebrated as his flask brimmed once more.

Leoric sprinkled Blast’s share of happy grass onto the ground and watched with resumed bemusement as she squirmed and rolled in the straw. Scritch joined her, rolling and tossing straw with exaggerated giggles of glee. Leoric had to admit to himself, her plump little tail flopping about was damned adorable.

“Baldir, can you guard the valuables while I go to the church?” Leoric asked.

“Who’s taking the kids?” He asked.

“I know you can’t keep an eye on Scritch. I’ll take her, and you take Blast. DON’T SELL HER TO ANYONE,” Leoric grumbled.

“Grandpa is wise,” Blast nodded sagely.

“Why can’t I have Scritch? She’s more fun and I don’t understand Blast… long may you flame,” Baldir said, catching himself as Blast gave him an indignant look.

Blast said a word that sounded very much like ‘happy grass’ in draconic and Scritch wilted a little.