"Wow. You guys really cleaned up."

  Gutters and Knob were standing in front of the Red Daggers, thoroughly washed in the Broken Leg's baths, still wearing their ragged clothes, but at least they were clean ragged clothes. With the inn's fire washing through their emotions, they were finally coming out of their shocked state.

  "Hey Gutters, Knob, you know how people have always hated you and tried to run you out of any place you entered?"

  "Yes, mister Zig?"

  "I mean, do you think at least part of that was the smell? The dirt? The half-rotted blankets you'd wrap yourselves in?"

  "What do you mean?" Knob asked. Gutters hesitantly lifted his arm and sniffed at his armpit.

  "I mean you say you've always been hated for your appearance. As half-goblin, and half-trog, half-trolog, half-"

  "Half-troglodyte."

  "Thank you, Gutters, half that thing. Well, maybe it was just fear of little street kids coming to steal their stuff? We should get you nice and presentable, and see how high you can climb in society." Zig giggled. "We could put you in a suit and take you to a ball."

  Zig lost himself in a daydream of the Mutts dancing with nobles at a fancy ball, wearing top hats and everything.

  "Well," Jane said, "I think it's high time we went shopping. Those rags simply won't do."

  "Shopping?" Hepp jumped out from behind a pillar.

  "Shopping?" Gretta's head popped up from a couch she was snoozing on.

  "Shopping!" Zig exclaimed his agreement. The "Alchemist" was earning buckets of coins at the docks, and they were loaded. Zig had several hundred gold coins stashed in a dozen pouches throughout the inn.

  "I really should get a chest, or a bank, or something," Zig murmured to himself.

  The team grabbed some money pouches, empty sacks and backpacks, Hepp got one more cookie from the innkeeper, and the team set out for the markets.

  Liston's markets consisted of multiple town squares, filled with stalls, carts, wagons, and even just blankets on the ground, with sellers calling out their wares and why all the other sellers were thieves and deceitful liars. Gretta and Hepp ran off to look at weapons and armor. Jints went to do Jints things. Zig was never really sure what Jints got up to. Zig himself, Jane, Gutters, and Knob went to find a tailor.

  "Ho, good lady! I see you have an eye for high-quality fashion. Would you like to accentuate your beauty even further? I daresay it would be impossible, but Leroy deals with the impossible on a daily basis!"

  An exuberant man was waving silk scarves toward Jane as if she were a fish and he was dangling bait. She rolled her eyes a bit, but made her way over.

  "Ho, good sir, I am indeed looking for some fashionable clothes, but not for myself."

  "Ah, you have a sister to treat? Or dare I guess a lover to clothe in finery?"

  "Yes indeed, two lovers in fact," Jane whispered in a stage voice, playing along. The shopkeeper started salivating at the idea of clothing two nobles, and the money that would require.

  "T-two, milady?"

  "They are right here with me," Jane said with a smile. She put her hands behind Gutters and Knob and presented them to the shopkeeper. He blanched, frozen in shock, staring at the blue and green creatures in rags standing before him. Zig had thought they'd cleaned up pretty well, but the shopkeeper looked as if they had just crawled out of a nameless pit in the deep places of the world. For the first time in his life, Leroy Silvertongue was speechless.

  "I want them to look fine, do you understand?" Jane clarified with Leroy. "I heard you were the best. I want to see that proven."

  Zig was waving his hand in front of the shopkeeper's eyes. There was no response.

  "I don't need anything too fancy," Knob muttered, "just something clean and functional will do. Something that blends in with the crowd."

  "I want something fancy." Gutters whispered in a small voice.

  Zig was still waving, but the shopkeeper was a statue. Zig reached for his ultimate weapon. He drew two gold coins out of his money pouch and waved that in front of the man. It broke the spell instantly. Leroy's face went through seven stages of emotion and settled on beaming delight.

  "Well, if the two sirs want fine clothing, what can Leroy say but absolutely! It may cost a little extra to customize for the... uniqueness of the occasion. But I—"

  Zig drew two more gold coins from his pouch. He had no idea how much clothing cost, but four gold seemed to be enough. Leroy swiped them out of Zig's hand with surprising dexterity, and bustled the two boys off before Zig or Jane could do any kind of haggling.

  "Well, I guess that's taken care of."

  Zig shrugged, and he and Jane walked along the street, looking at the stalls. There was one with a carefully piled pyramid of melons. The seller was making juice out of the melons, and Zig bought one for himself and one for Jane. A few stalls later there were some kind of mini pies, hot from the oven. The two walked along, eating pies and drinking melon juice.

  "It's been a real adventure, coming here."

  "It has, Zig. I don't know how I'll ever thank you. Even without the academy, joining the Red Daggers... well, it's the dream of every girl growing up in a castle."

  "It is?"

  "Of course! When you're locked away and have every need met, the idea of running from trolls and sleeping under the stars... well, to be honest, I'm almost afraid of going to the academy."

  Zig paused, his hand halfway out of his pocket.

  "Ah, well, then this is a bit of awkward timing."

  He handed over the piece of paper in his hand. It was decorated in gold and signed with a flourishing handwriting that Zig had no hope of reading. Jane gasped.

  "You got me in?"

  "I got you in."

  It was an official entrance paper to Liston's Academy. Zig had went that morning to enroll Jane. He waited as she read through the paper. Her eyes got a bit teary, and Zig's eyes got a bit teary seeing it. Jane threw her hands around Zig, hugging him tightly.

  "Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

  Zig gave her a little pat on the back. He wasn't familiar with this sort of thing. He was feeling... things.

  "Um, of course, Jane. This is what the Red Daggers do. We look out for each other. You just have to promise me one thing."

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  "Anything! What is it?"

  Zig looked Jane in the eyes. She was smiling through the tears.

  "You have to teach us magic. The whole crew. If this is a world where I can fly, I will be furious if nobody shows me how to fly."

  Jane laughed and agreed whole-heartedly. She even gave Zig a little kiss on the cheek.

  Zig may have dropped his melon juice.

  "Ugh, he dropped the juice."

  One of the two men hiding behind some crates swore.

  "Did he drink any first?"

  "Some. I guess we'll see if it's enough. Alchemists, though, often build up a resistance to poisons. If nothing happens, we'll double the dose. At some point it changes the taste though."

  "And the girl?"

  "Forget the girl, if she dies but he survives, it'll be ten times harder. Let's keep trying without him suspecting anything."

  At the feet of the men, the real owner of the melon juice cart wiggled in his bonds. One of the men kicked him and he went still. The kicker spat on the ground.

  "Let's go, we'll find another opportunity."

  "At the inn?"

  "Not yet. Lenny and Rem tried the inn, and we still haven't heard from them. I think the innkeeper has some security we're not aware of. Also..." The man hesitated. "The owner helped my cousin get through the loss of her dad. I owe him something for that."

  "Even with the bounty at ten gold?"

  "It's already hit ten? I thought it was still six..."

  The man absentmindedly kicked the shopkeeper on the ground again, thinking it over.

  "It'll be plan B. Let's keep watching for now."

  Gretta's stomp hit the ground. Hard. Hepp felt a faint tremor in the earth. Her new shoes had a sole of solid iron, before a layer of softer leather and transitioning to a normal boot on top. The toe was capped with a layer of iron too.

  "Those things are gonna get rusty."

  "I'll keep em greased, Hepp, but," Gretta admired her new shoes. They were built for training leg strength, each weighed far more than comfortable. Gretta's Advanced Strength didn't care. "The rust will just add to the look, I'm thinking. What'd you get?"

  Hepp twirled, showing off his green shirt and darker green cape.

  "I got myself a new look! What do you think? I'm aiming for forest camouflage. Hepp the Ranger, hiding in the trees."

  Hepp made little "pew pew" sounds as he pretended to shoot arrows from a treetop.

  "I want to get a new bow, too. Stronger draw, I want something that can reach farther, since I can use my knives at short range. Plus there is a certain weapons expert that likes my style."

  Hepp gave Gretta finger guns, like Zig had taught him to do. They didn't quite have the effect Zig had promised. Hepp scratched his head.

  "Want to try out some weapons?"

  Zig and the two boys met Hepp and Gretta at the weapons arena. Hepp was talking to Lucy, who was looking around for an excuse to leave. She brightened when she saw Zig, running over to greet the new guests.

  "Ho, Zig! Show me your club!"

  Zig handed over his club with a hemisphere rock glued to it. He'd made it with some good old goblin crafting after Lucy gave him the idea. She cooed over it.

  "Not bad, not bad."

  "It's a rock on a stick."

  "Exactly, Zig, it's a rock on a stick. Your skill counts it as a rock, but you can use it as a club. Very nice indeed. Hepp's trying to get me to make swords he can shoot from his bow. I just..."

  Lucy looked exasperated.

  "There's limits, you know? What can I do for you today?"

  Zig gestured at Gutters and Knob.

  "I have two new customers for you. Here's their entrance fee, but here's a bit more to let them keep any weapon. Deal?"

  Zig flipped a couple of gold coins toward the weapons expert. She caught one in each hand at the same time and flashed a smile.

  "Well, if we're paying gold, right this way, my most esteemed customers."

  Zig wondered how Lucy would have reacted to the boys before they'd cleaned up and gone shopping. Now, Knob's skin was still as green as a plant, but he had nice brown pants and a cream colored tunic. They fit well, and looked soft and comfortable on Knob as if he'd worn them for years. Gutters' light blue skin now blended in with a darker blue tunic, over black pants. There was a bit of silver trim around the edges of his tunic, and a belt with a silver buckle gleamed in the sunlight. Zig loved it.

  "So, let's start with you, mister..."

  "Knob."

  "Mister Knob." Lucy gestured at the pile of weapons lying haphazardly everywhere on the table, some spilling onto the floor. "Don't, ah, don't step on anything. Sharp edges and all that. Do you have any weapon skills? Proficiencies?"

  "I have a hiding skill. And... goblin crafting," Knob said sheepishly.

  "Wait, what? Knob, that's amazing! Me too!" Zig hadn't realized they shared a common skill.

  "It's just Basic." Knob shuffled his feet. "Nothing special."

  "Nothing special? Knob we're going to start a goblin crafting club. You and me. The Goblineers, or The GobbleCrafts, GobCrafters, no, no there's something there, I'll think on it."

  Knob picked through the weapons. He eyed some of the daggers, and a weird bit of wire attached to a ball, but nothing really caught his interest.

  "I'm not sure what to look for."

  "Well, do you want to fight up close, or at range?"

  "Out of sight, preferably," Knob replied honestly. Lucy thought on that.

  "Well, I guess you could try get into magic? If you've got gold coming out of your ears, you could summon elementals to fight for you. Or have some good friends," the weapons expert nodded toward Zig. "Maybe you don't have to fight?"

  Knob sighed in relief at that. Zig felt a bit bad, he thought Knob would be happy to get a weapon. Lucy picked up a small dagger and placed it in Knob's hand.

  "Even those that don't fight still need a dagger. Sometimes just for the utility of having a knife. In worst cases... it's good to have a dagger."

  Knob took the dagger with a nod and small smile. Lucy offered him a sheath and showed him how to attach it to his belt. She turned to Gutters and motioned him to step closer.

  "How about you..."

  Before she finished her sentence, Gutters ran up to a rapier leaning against the side of the table. A smile spread over him as he hesitantly picked it up. He looked to Lucy and Zig.

  "Can I...?"

  "By all means!" Lucy pointed to a training dummy and Gutters raced over to it. He started slashing and stabbing to his heart's content. The dummy had no chance. Gutters parried an imaginary blow, sliced across the dummy's face, then leapt into the air, soaring over the dummy, slashing it twice more before he landed on the other side, stabbing the dummy in the back. Lucy and every member of the Red Daggers stared at Gutters with their jaws open.

  "Gutters can jump?" Zig asked incredulously.

  "Oh, yea, he didn't do it much, trying to stay out of sight and all that." Knob responded, "I think it's a Troglodyte thing. Natural jumpers."

  "He's swinging that thing like he was born to it," Lucy mused. "You sure he doesn't have a proficiency skill? Because if not, he's gonna get one real soon."

  Hepp saw Lucy staring at Gutters, and started throwing his daggers at a nearby dummy, giving extra flourishes. The daggers flew true, with five clustered at the head, one in the heart, and one in each hand and foot. Some of the nearby men practicing looked over admiringly at Hepp, a couple clapping at the display. Hepp looked over with a flush in his face, but Lucy was still looking at Gutters. The boy hadn't slowed down at all. It looked like he'd wanted a rapier his whole life. There wasn't any finesse, skill, or technique, the boy was just loving the feel of the weapon as he swung it through the air. The dummy was missing several chunks, and wouldn't last much longer.

  "Hey Zig, how much gold you got? I think you'll want to sign this one up to a membership." Lucy suggested. Zig nodded and gave a few more gold coins to get a permanent membership for all the Red Daggers. Things were easier when you had gold coins.

  "Hey, Lucy, got anything scarier looking than my club?"

  "Nothing I've seen is as scary as you with that club, Zig."

  "I know, but that's only if I use the club. Before then, it looks like I made it myself with a rock and a stick in half an hour."

  Zig had indeed made it himself, in half an hour. But he thought about that close call with the Captain on the docks. If he looked the part, maybe that would stop things coming to blows.

  "You can wear any weapon you want, Zig, but if things ever did get rough, you'd thank your stars if you had a rock or that club on you. The only thing I can think of for intimidation is to get it enchanted. People see the glow and get wary real quick."

  "You can enchant weapons?" Zig thought about a goblin he'd once killed, holding a staff that had glowing purple runes carved into it. "Oh, of course, Lucy that's brilliant!"

  "Hold on there," Lucy laughed, "I don't think you can buy a ready-made enchanted rock on a stick, and to get someone to enchant it would take weeks, if not months."

  Zig's enthusiasm evaporated.

  "Months?"

  "Enchanting takes a long time. I don't know the full process, but the enchanter has to engrave the weapon layer by layer. Takes a long time. That's why they're so expensive."

  The ghost of Zig's enthusiasm departed from the realm of the living.

  "How expensive are we talking?"

  "Oh, hundreds, thousands of gold. Do you see anyone in Liston walking around with glowing weapons?"

  Zig tried to remember how many gold he sold that enchanted staff for, back in Lancre. Not hundreds or thousands, that was for sure. He sighed, looking at his club forlornly.

  "Another goal then. At least one of us can live out my rapier dreams."

  They watched Gutters leap over the training dummy again, this time doing a flip. It was a ridiculous thing to do, over the top and dangerous as the troglodyte boy had to take his eyes off the dummy to do so. By this point, half the arena had paused to watch. Gutters' sheer enthusiasm was infectious. The Daggers stayed until the sun set. Then most went back to the Broken Leg for dinner. Gutters stayed, working his way through his fourth dummy. The rapier, already plain a simple, was dull and dented from use. Gutters was shiny with sweat. He thought about Sniffs, and wondered if his friend would be alive if he'd had this weapon back there in the gang warehouse. A few tears joined the sweat and rolled past the boy's smile. He kept fighting, through the night, until he felt that message pop into his head. The message he knew he'd get, the moment he'd laid eyes on the weapon.

  New skill acquired! Weapon proficiency - Rapier (Basic)