It was just about noon now based on the sun. A few open-faced huts favoured by merchants were between this building and the town square. I wandered that way. Lots of potatoes and carrots were piled up in one stall, and the other was pottery.

The town square was a raised square platform about five meters in length. Although there were no gallows or guillotine set up, I didn't want to take that as meaning they intended a light punishment if Jordan was convicted.

I wandered around, almost everyone seemed a bit startled to see me. Though not all were human. A few figures were extremely tall and slender, with mossy green skin and thin transparent robes. They hurried away as soon as they saw me with almost comically small steps due to their disproportionately small legs. One short man about my own height with long pointed ears actually dropped his basket of vegetables when he saw me, and with a blurred gesture he vanished in a shimmer. I really hoped he wasn't running off to sound the alarm and bring a hunting party of angry Elves after me.

On the opposite side of town from the Lord's House was the church, the tallest building in sight if you counted the spire. A short stone wall surrounded it, looking more symbolic than practical since a tall person might be able to step right over it. I drifted that way.

There was an odd sensation coming from the building. Almost the same as I had felt the first time I tried to cross the river, but less insistent. Trying to be a little discreet about it, I nudged my toe through the gateway. Nothing happened so I stepped over. A portly man in brown monks robes leaned out of the doorway to look at me. Behind him I could see one of the people who had hurried out of the market.

"Hello." I gave a subdued wave.

"Why have you come here, goblin?" The monk gripped his amulet and stood up straighter.

"I want to talk to you."

"Speak then."

"I need to talk to a god, or maybe you. I have some questions."

"The divine will flows through me." There did indeed seem to be something flowing. His robes rustled in their own breeze, and the light near him had gotten slightly brighter.

"I have heard the gods come and go from the world. How? Where do they go?"

"The gods dwell in the heavens."

"How do they get there? Is there a portal I can use?"

"The heavens above are barred to you, goblin. The divine glory will burn you to ash."

"Well, if you do see any gods, can you tell them I'd like to talk? I need some answers."

"Leave this place, now!" The air around him was now actually glowing. The strange feeling had blossomed into a sense of foreboding. Something had noticed me, and the weight of its attention was making it a little hard to breathe.

I retreated a few steps, until I was off the property. I gave him a smarmy wave and backed away.

The town market had cleared out a bit by the time I walked back. The sound of hammer on metal echoed through the town so I went that way. A little surprisingly, the forge was smaller than Jordan's. The smith's apprentice lost his timing on the bellows as he stared at me. The smith shouted at him, and then turned to look as well.

"Hello."

"What the hell?" The muscular man gripped his hammer tightly.

"I'm looking for a god. Have you seen any recently?"

"You wanna die, coming here?"

"No. I've got some questions."

"Why not ask your own god? Which one sent you?" He squinted at me, looking more confused by the second.

"None of them. I've never met any."

"You must have. Only followers can cross the border."

"Nevermind. I'm here about the trial tomorrow, for the smith Jordan. Do you know him?"

"I do." The man had gotten even more tense.

"What do you think of him, and the charges?"

"He's an odd man. First his family goes missing and then his neighbors start dying. It's suspicious." The tone of voice made it clear he didn't like Jordan. I had hoped there would be some comradeship between the smiths, but it seemed they were rivals.

"Right. Thanks for your time." I backed away, seeing that the ingot they had been working on had cooled, they'd need to start over.

The idea of going to the inn or tavern crossed my mind, but being near drunken people seemed like a really bad plan. I wasn't sure if the lack of violence would hold out after a few beers. I spent a while wandering the town trying to see if any of the signs matched the writing in the book from my cave. After a complete loop of the market I hadn't seen anything like it, though a few signs were in a loopy script that almost looked like vines with leaves and buds and thorns coming off them.

I was quite tired by now, so I headed back to the trees by the road. Spending the night in the town was tempting, but I didn't think I could sleep with that many people nearby.

I put about an hour's paranoid walk into the woods between me and any potentially angry townsfolk, and then burrowed a shallow hole in a clump of bushes and curled up.

DAY 21

I awoke several hours before dawn. My head was throbbing in time with my pulse, my sight blurry. For a while I lay there, staring at the stars overhead. The shimmering stars were beautiful, but I really wished I had some painkillers for this headache.

Abruptly my head went back to normal, the ache vanishing. I was getting real tired of being jerked around by forces outside my control.

I took my time scavenging for a few berries and hunting a rabbit. Maybe it was the bow, maybe I had just gotten the hang of it, but my accuracy had gotten better. Skinning it barely took any effort. With nearly several hours before noon, I didn't much want to spend it getting stared at in the town, so decided to spend it exploring.

When I did get back to the town the guard at the gate was awake this time, and I spotted a small rope emerging through a hole in the wall behind him when he pulled it. Somewhere behind the wall a small bell rang. His expression soured and he angled his halberd across the gateway as I approached.

"Halt! Identify yourself."

"I'm Karl."

"State your purpose."

"I'm here for the trial."

"Hmm. Theft and assault are forbidden, you will lose a hand. Interfering with the trial is punishable by death. Enter, and depart, in peace."

He stood aside, but didn't much seem to approve of me entering. I wondered if he had gotten in trouble for not alerting the House when I walked in yesterday.

The town had a lot more bustle today, the town square had a lively festival atmosphere. Two musicians with a fiddle and drum had set up in the corner, and several merchants wandered through the crowd with trays of drinks and food. I hoped that was a good sign, rather than public executions being considered entertainment.

The center of the square now had several guards around it, and one elderly man in a shimmering robe who was waving his hands around and muttering. The priest I had met yesterday was standing in the crowd glaring at him. The bustle parted around me in a wave of glances and nudged elbows, but they weren't fleeing like they had yesterday. The smell of the anxiety washed through the crowd. My eye caught on one of the other non-humans there who didn't seem too offended by my presence. We were both noticeably shorter than average, but he was wider than anyone else, with a very sturdy frame, and thick sloping brow that almost made it look like he was wearing a helmet. I wasn't sure if his skin was naturally the colour and texture of dried mud, or if he was covered in it. He was at a booth with a selection of pottery and bracelets of braided string and crystals.

"Hi, I'm Karl."

"Morning."

"I'm hoping you could give me some information."

"Look, Gob, I'm here to sell this stuff, and you're chasing away the customers. You wanna talk, make it worth my while."

"Fair enough. How about a trade? I've got sinew, you can use that for more bracelets, right?" I swung off my pack and pulled out several bundles of sinew.

"Great, I can use those to hang myself when I return to the clan in disgrace for not selling anything."

"Well, I don't have any money, sorry. I just got here." I started to stuff the sinew back in my pack.

"Wait. I didn't say I wouldn't take them. What do you want to know?" He grabbed the sinew and stuffed them out of sight behind his stall.

"Who are you? I haven't seen anyone like you before."

He made a sound like crunching gravel, and then shrugged

"Graroch of the Krokro, is close enough. We live to the south west of here. Trade with the gob tribes sometimes. Didn't expect to see one of you here. Who do you follow?"

"I don't follow anyone, I'm here trying to help a friend."

"One of those gods, then? Talked you up about being partners?"

"Not really. Nevermind. Have you seen one of these trials before? Are they fair? Lord Wolsey seemed pretty upset. Do you think he's going to punish my friend just for knowing me?"

"House Wolsey lost a lot in the war when the Ragamuffin alliance of gods lead a warband through here about twenty years ago. His parents were killed by goblins, and he spent a couple years rebuilding the towns they burned. Lots of the elders are going to have strong feelings, but they probably won't do anything extreme. Unless you're a follower of one of the Ragamuffin gods."

"I am definitely not a follower of them. Some people said goblins are forbidden here, is that a human law?"

"Divine treaty. Human alliance won the war, they get the territory. Where'd you come from, anyway? Everyone around here knows that, born knowing that, same as you know how to talk."

"I've travelled pretty far. It's not important. Anyways, thanks, Graroch."

I wandered back towards the stage. Clearly it was only these gods who could casually violate this treaty, and why everyone thought I must be a follower. Did that mean there were no goblin gods, or that they were just distinguishable enough that I didn't look like one. Jordan had mentioned something about gods being shiny, and I supposed it would be traditional for players to have all kinds of auras and flashy cosmetics. The old wizardly guy who had been here earlier had a shimmering robe, but I didn't think that was what they meant. Would things be easier if people thought I was a god?

A murmur of noise washed over the crowd. A group of people were walking over from the House. Six guards, Lord Wolsey, Squire Denan, Arbiter Dolan, and Jordan who was shackled and generally looking downtrodden but otherwise healthy. They took the stage, after a moment Wolsey gestured and the crowd quieted.

"We are here to settle the matter of whether Jordan Boureche is guilty of the deaths of his neighbors over recent nights. Arbiter, if you would."

"I am Arbiter Dolan Montgomery, in the service of the realm." He held up a medallion that I supposed could be a badge. His eyes caught on me for a moment. "Given the evidence and witness testimony, let it be known that I find Sir Boureche innocent in this matter. He is to be released and the realm thanks him for cooperating in this troubling time. The murderer is still loose, and I compel you all to give whatever aid you can to bringing them to justice."

There was some grumbling from the crowd as the guards unlocked Jordan's shackles. Lord Wolsey was unreadable as he again stepped forwards.

"Good people, we must remain vigilant. I will be sending more guardsmen to patrol the land. Do not travel at night without good reason, and not alone. A bounty of one hundred gold coins, and a writ of tax exemption for one year, will be awarded to the party whose aid leads to the capture of the murderer."

The crowd perked up at that. I didn't know how much a hundred coins was in practical terms, but it seemed to get their attention. Wolsey shook Jordan's hand, and then left back towards his House with four of his guards and Denan. The last two guards stayed beside the Arbiter, who was now chatting with several people from the crowd. Jordan was looking around and rubbing his wrists. I hurried towards him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better now." He seemed surprised to see me.

"I'm sorry that I caused you trouble."

"I don't blame you." He clapped me on the shoulder and looked over the dispersing crowd. "These bastards have had it out for me for years." The words were different, accented, but not as harshly as they had been before. I couldn't identify it for a minute, and then I realized that this was his other language, the one I hadn't been able to understand a few days ago. Now that I stopped to think about it, I hadn't heard separate languages today, just accents. I supposed that was par for the course here.

"I talked to the other smith in town. He seems like an ass."

"He is. It was brave for you to come."

"I didn't want you to be punished for helping me. What will you do now?"

"Home first, and then we hunt. You smelled the beast. Now we will find it. Giving the reward to me will be a thorn in their asses."