Being in a prison was a new feeling for Ratface. Most goblins didn’t get captured when in a conflict with other races so much as they got murdered, so she was having a unique experience for goblin kind.

  That might have something to do with the fact that they didn’t know she was a goblin yet. They’d taken her into custody but weirdly left her helmet on while they did so. It could’ve been a cultural thing or it could’ve been the now rescued kidnappees singing her praises. One had even said to give her the Lady’s favour, but she had no idea what that meant. She doubted they’d be so quick to help her if they found out she was a goblin.

  She’d never been in jail before, so she didn’t know the procedure, did they keep her here if they had evidence, she wasn’t guilty? Or was it just, ‘grab everyone involved and sort it out later’. Either way, she had to give them an incentive not to remove her helmet. Hopefully there’d be something in the papers she’d stolen.

  She pulled them out and read through. Some words were still beyond her, but she got enough through context. A lot of the people had numbers next to their name, they must have been in debt. She didn’t know enough about how debts were settled but maybe they said their life was forfeit if they didn’t pay it back in time? Was this whole thing actually legitimate? Even if she was, she didn’t regret her choices. They’d been keeping them in a cooling room. The people without the debts next to them removed a lot of that legitimacy. A lot of them were people on the street or people that didn’t have someone watching out for them. It was still a foreign concept to Ratface that people would be ignored like that. The idea a goblin wasn’t taken care of in a village was unthinkable to her. For all this town was so advanced they still had such an easy problem to solve.

  Well, the evidence looked pretty good, she was about to put the papers away when the last page caught her eyes. It was a request from someone for the kidnappers to keep an eye out for people who could see magic, or goblins. Apparently, they had someone in the guard keeping an eye out. Ratface’s stomach lurched, and she hid the last paper. Well, that complicated matters.

  Footsteps rung down the hallways and she did her best to look calm. Two guards came over to her. One looked incredibly harried while the other had a calm smile. The calm one looked like she’d just started, her outfit was crisp, and her dark hair was combed and tied back. In comparison, her partner looked like she’d either just woken up or been awake too long. Her hair was tied into a bun that had lost its integrity several hours ago and she had baggy eyes. It was a surprise when she was the one to address Ratface.

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  “You are the adventurer that helped out?”

  “That’s me,” said Ratface.

  “Excellent. I’m Catherine, and this here is Alexa.” She gestured at her partner who gave Ratface a small nod. “We have a problem here. While the victims claim that they were kidnapped and you saved them, we don’t actually have any proof. It doesn’t help when we have an entire group claiming that you and your group randomly attacked them. They even say you burned down their establishment.”

  Ratface grimaced. She’d only started a small fire, but she supposed the place was pretty run down. Lucky the people she’d rescued had been smart enough to keep running when she’d been caught.

  “Would this count as proof?” she asked. She handed them all but the paper she’d hidden. It wouldn’t do to let them know she knew one of them was corrupted.

  Catherine took the papers and skimmed through them. Her eyes looked more and more tired.

  “This will help yes,” she said. Alexa let out a small laugh.

  “What my partner is trying to say is that this is exactly what we need. Now who might I say is helping us for our report?”

  “Ratface.”

  Alexa’s smile froze for a second.

  “That’s an interesting name,” she murmured. It would have been too quite for most people to hear, but goblins had good hearing.

  “There is one last thing,” said Alexa, “we do need to verify your identity. If you could just take off your helmet so we can do so.” Her eyes seemed a lot more focused now. Ah she’d recognised the name as a goblin one.

  “I can’t,” said Ratface.

  “You must,” said Alexa.

  “Actually, she doesn’t,” said Catherine, “a few of the woman that were there were calling for her to have the Lady’s favour. Is that something you’re after?” she asked Ratface. Ratface nodded and the harried guard nodded back.

  “Makes sense. We get a lot of you coming through given that we’re one of the first towns you hit. An auspicious start that you’re already helping people.”

  She unlocked the door and let Ratface out. The three walked to the main area where Catherine went searching for something. Alexa watched her with calm eyes the entire time. They both knew what Ratface was, but they both knew Alexa couldn’t do anything right now. Ratface just bet that everyone in that organization would know about her by the end of the day though.

  Catherine returned with a pendant and handed it to Ratface. It had a engraving of a lady holding an infant whilst also covered in runes. Ratface paused. Now not a lady, The Lady. Catherine gestured for her to put it on and Ratface did so. Immediately she felt it latch onto her neck. She tried to pull it off and it wouldn’t budge. Catherine smiled.

  “You all do that when you first put it on. Good luck in your pilgrimage little squire. I hope you can find someone to sponsor you.”

  She sent Ratface on her way and Ratface left and went searching for her friends.

  She had a feeling she’d just gotten herself into a predicament. The pendant warmed against her neck in agreement.