Dink stood on the moving cart, onlookers were pointing up at him in horror. They whispered in hushed tones after recognising him as a Goblin. The whispers were settling down as they convinced themselves that they must be mistaken. He and Murkuk were obviously travelling with a civilised company. Dink’s lips tightened into a heavy scowl.

Those fucking Hags! I knew it couldn’t be natural for everyone to curse and spit at my name. They created a world law, that must be why Estra and Tahlea aren’t affected. They’re both formally trained, Magus. I can almost admire the Hags, they certainly were thorough in dealing with me.

“What is it, was it what I said?” Tahlea innocently asked.

Dink heavily sighed, reluctantly relaxing his clenched fists and sitting back in the cart. He ignored the jibes from the pedestrians.

“There are Legends left in reclusion. Part of the unspoken treaty between them and the dragon race is they must also retreat from civilization. The Sword Saint had not joined them because he'd only newly entered that realm when the Hags made their bargain. He was too naive, blinded by the glory of slaying a true dragon to prove his merit,” Dink slowly said, his body flinching at the ritualistic spitting in response.

"How do you know that?" Tahlea asked.

"It's not common knowledge. There are some hidden in plain sight. Like the Wood-Elf king of Lashar. Do you think that weak ass excuse of him being the descendent of the progenitor of their race would be the real reason he can prevent incursion from the Expanding Woods? No, King Cazanova is a Legend realm Magus. The true dragons likely tolerate a limited amount of interference from him. Or else, he would have chased it back from his borders entirely, by now," Dink said.

The cart pulled up outside the only pub in Burrowton, the Rusty Blade Inn. Murkuk got up in a race to dismount. As he was about to leap down, a large earthquake rocked the cart. The ground seemed to move like waves underneath. It was impossible for anyone to maintain their balance. Murkuk fell forward, flailing his arms for balance. The shaking ended as quickly as it started. Murkuk tumbled from the cart, landing face-first in the dirt at the feet of a young stablehand.

"Mercy, what the fuck are you supposed to be? Forget about it, I don't want to know," the stablehand exclaimed, leaping out of the way.

Murkuk sat up, spitting out a clump of grass. Dink could feel his indignation through the bond. Shaking his head, he agilely leapt down beside him. Once on the ground, he looked the stablehand over. He was a muscular young man just entering adulthood, with messy blonde hair.

He shifted uncomfortably under Dink's scrutiny. He tugged nervously at the collar of his loose canvas shirt. He glanced in every direction except Dink, finally resting on Estra gracefully climbing down from the cart bench. After seeing her face, he became entranced by her beauty, instantly forgetting about Dink.

"Here, milady. Let me help you down!" the stablehand eagerly exclaimed.

Dink stepped aside as he shoved between the two Goblins to get to Estra's side, offering his hand. His eyes shifted to ogle Riva and Tahlea in the back, quickly forgetting about Estra. She fell forward after accepting assistance that was no longer there. The stablehand rushed to them instead, practically drooling over them.

"What are such tender beauties doing accompanying creatures such as these?" The stablehand asked, oblivious to the glares surrounding him.

"He's our husband," Tahlea answered, gesturing to Dink.

Riva silently slapped aside his hand as they both lightly hopped down. He ignored their actions, gaping at them incredulously.

"What about that then?" The stablehand asked, pointing at Murkuk.

Oh, Murkuk? He's a Goblin. Can't you tell?" Riva smugly asked, causing him to involuntarily step back.

He quickly recovered his composure, puffing out his chest. Dink watched him with amusement as he looked askance at the two Goblins. Axion stepped down from the cart, standing between the stablehand and the women.

"Boy, is it your job to care for the carts and animals?" Axion asked in annoyance, interrupting whatever he was about to say. The stablehand attempted to move around him, Axion moved with him to block him off. Eventually, the stablehand got exasperated and stood still.

"Boy? I'm no boy, I'm a man! As you ladies can see, I'm the most eligible bachelor in Burrowton. My father owns the Rusty Blade Inn," the stablehand said, beating his chest proudly.

"Darby, stop harassing the customers. Are you shirking off mucking out the stalls again? Do I need to have father put you on latrine duty?" a feminine voice said.

They all turned to investigate the new arrival. She was a stout young woman holding a broom at the Inn’s doorstep. The first thing Dink noticed was her breasts, they were enormous in comparison to her sturdy frame. He stared so hard that he almost forgot to take in the rest of her features.

She was a relatively pretty young woman in her early twenties. She had auburn hair knotted into a bun. She wiped her hands on the greasy apron she was wearing before offering it to Dink. Darby slunk away with his tail between his legs, glancing over his shoulders, smitten by the wife-pair.

"I'm Martha. Ignore my brother, Darby. He's always been obsessed with reading about Halfling wife-pairs. He may be a bit perverted, but he's harmless. You're all welcome here at the Rusty Blade Inn. I'll brook no discrimination against any weary traveller under my roof. I've never met one of the monster races before, what's the Expanding Woods like? I've only heard stories. I'd love to go there one day. What about you, were you always a Beastfolk? Your muscles are huge," Martha jovially rambled. Dink gaped at her in wonder, unable to get a word in between her sentences.

She vigorously shook Dink's hand before releasing it and shaking everyone else's, in turn.

The movement drew Dink's attention to the jiggling of her impressive cleavage. Dink became aware of Axion slyly grinning at him. He tentatively looked around, he was surrounded by the disapproving glares of all his women.