Orn snapped awake by the wagon coming to a stop. He rubbed his eyes and noticed the merchant’s guild not far from the wagon. Orn stretched and grabbed his bag.

“Jenny wanted me to drop you at the academy,” Mr. Gerrang’s voice came from behind him as Orn hopped over the side. The man had said so little in the time they were together his voice startled Orn, and he staggered a second on the cobble stones. “But I thought you would head here regardless of where I took you.” The man spoke clearly, but stringing together so many words sounded as if it was a task he was not used to. “Thank you for what you did.”

Orn adjusted the bag on his shoulder, awkwardly. Orn’s reply died on his lips as the man smiled and started his wagon moving again without another word. Orn watched the wagon and saw Mr. Gerrang’s son turn and waive at Orn smiling. Mr. Gerrang tussled the boy’s hair as the crowd in the street blocked them from view.

He adjusted the bag again and started towards the guild. A few people looked at him strangely, as he passed, but Orn assumed they were just staring at his uniform. They must see academy students all the time. What is so special about me?

Orn tried to put it out of his mind as he walked, but even though they were just passing glances, he could not help feeling awkward. He rushed up the steps and into the merchant’s guild when he reached them. The place mostly empty, and the few people in the building were focused on the business with the clerks at the counter. Orn heard the door close softly behind him and the feeling of being watched disappeared.

He took a deep breath and looked around the guild hall. One clerk was talking to a man at the counter while another clerk was doing paperwork at another empty teller booth. Neither seemed to pay him any attention focusing on their tasks.

Orn walked straight to the jobs board and looked through the papers. The goblin hunt was hidden under a paper seeking a temporary parcel runner. Pulling the sheet off the board he walked toward the younger clerk doing paperwork. The clerk looked up as he approached the counter, and a confused look passed across his face before he schooled his expression.

“Good afternoon. How may I assist you?” The man asked, as he gently slid the papers he was working on to the side.

“I completed a job on the board.” Orn said walk to the counter, and dropped his bag onto the floor.

“Excellent,” the man said smiling. “It will just take a moment to pull you record. What is your name?”

“Orn Vron Blackthorn.” Orn replied bending down to pull the ruined scrap of cloak free of his bag. He placed the bundle on the counter.

While Orn was busy with his bag the clerk had walked away. The clerk was looking at rows of thin wooden tags hanging from beneath a table running the length of the back wall. Finding the stack he wanted, he pulled one out and replaced the others. The clerk gave the scrap of wood a quick glance before walking back to the table.

“Do you happen to have,” the clerk began only to stop when his eyes fell on the scrap of paper Orn was extending to him. “Thank you. It appears this is your first job with us.” The clerk quickly scanned the paper, only for his eyes to flick back to the top and reread the posting.

The clerk’s expression remained flat, but Orn noticed one eyebrow twitched. Placing the paper on the counter, the man untied the top of the bundle and pulled on the knot to look at its contents. He then quickly retied the knot.

“One moment please, I need to get the senior clerk,” the clerk said walking toward his colleague. The other clerk looked confused as the younger clerk reached his side and whispered something in his ear. The older clerk responded sending the younger rushing towards a door in the back wall.

Orn saw the older clerk say a few words to the merchant, before standing. Orn was too far away to hear what they were saying, but the merchant looked upset. The merchant shot him a quick glare and Orn strained to hear what they were saying.

“Eavesdropping is rude.” The words shattered the silence. Orn recognized Kao’s voice just in time to prevent jumping from the shock, but only just.

He turned to see her smiling at him eyes twinkling. Even if he did not jump, she knew. He sighed internally. I am going to be paying for threatening to hug her while smelling like sheep for a long time.

“If you must know,” she said ignoring his pleading look, “he was complaining about the interruption to his business and demanding to know why he had to start over with a junior clerk. The senior was nearly done and he came in first.”

The older clerk, spoke again and gestured at Orn. The merchant stared at Orn for a moment before his eyes widened. “The clerk just informed him he was welcome to take the matter up with the young noble at the end of the counter.” Kao chuckled, “The one who has brought a goblin mother’s severed ear as proof of finishing a job.”

The merchant’s eyes met Orn’s for a split second before frantically grabbing papers off the counter and throwing them into a bag.

Kao turned to Orn with a slight smile. “Look what you have done to that poor man. He was having such a nice day until he me the barbarian carrying around a severed ear.”

Orn watched the clerk bow slightly to the departing merchant. The clerk then turned sharply around and walked toward the door in the back the other clerk had disappeared through. A moment later the clerks emerged from the door.

The older clerk walked up to where Orn waited. “The guild master would like to speak with you.”