Natalie leased to see that the Baro his words: he really did unch straight into the briefing, foing further pleasantries, which they'd been all but drowning in while Tristan escorted them to the manor.

  "It's a curious case," Barowood said. "A standard situation by marics, but equally as aberrant in some. By my uanding, Te has informed you of the basics?"

  "Only that there's been a growing monster problem in the area," Jordan said. "They're pretty stingy about the details."

  Baron Edric paused, looking at Jordan, seeming nearly surprised that someoher than Liz had replied to him. Jordan's face was for the most part ral, but Natalie knew her well enough to see a hint of amusement in her barely raised eyebrow.

  She'd probably interjected because of how focused he seemed on Liz. Not so much to defensively draw his attention away from Liz—who, despite seeming awkward by the ued introdu of social status dynamics, was clearly at ease with iing with other members of the aristocra a formal way—but because Jordan found it funny to interrupt the status quo. And maybe she was the smallest bit a how they were being half-ignored.

  The Baron's attentioled on Jordan. "I see," he said. "That is, ihe general sense of it." Despite having defaulted to speaking to Liz, he wasn't so rude as to brush Jordan off. Natalie retty sure Liz's presence was just overwhelming to everyone who knew her surname, anding the Baron's attention, not some iional snub on his part. "Goblin , if they didn't specify," the Baron said. "A mixture of levels oo threes, and a rge number of them."

  Natalie's eyebrows raised. Even in that brief introdu, there were several things to take in.

  First, goblins. Humanoid monsters. She'd always had mixed feelings on fighting those. The upside was that she was better trained against them: most humanoids had the same general attack patterns, whereas true monsters could be far more difficult to read a to. The downside was that killing things shaped like people, and which seemed to have some primitive—very primitive—level of intelligence was intrinsically uling. Though she'd do plenty of times down in the dungeon. Just, that disfort wasn't something she thought she would ever pletely shake.

  The point of i was that there was 'a mixture of levels oo threes'. Not just a couple of troublesome monsters, but many of them. That sounded more intehan Natalie would have expected for a level-two quest. Of course, it robably mostly level ones, with only some level twos, and rare level threes, not an equal distribution. heless, even that suggested it wouldn't be nearly as easy of a mission as Natalie had resigned herself to.

  And they hadn't even gotten to the 'strange part.'

  She straightened in her chair, suddenly much more ied in what the Baron had to say.

  "Nothing you five 't handle, I'm sure," he tinued, "but it's not so much the threat they represent as how they've been behaving."

  "Oh?" Jordan prompted, happy to tinue engaging the Baron's attention. "How they've been behaving?" To her side, Liz also seemed mildly surprised that Jordan had takehe royal's ramrod posture rexed slightly, seeming happy not to have to take the lead.

  "As expected of a band of goblins—filthy creatures—they've been carrying out attacks on nearby farms, houses, travelers, wagons, anything within their grubby reach. As goblins do." He shook his head in annoyance. "A headache, I tell you, even for a rating appraisal of level two. Here's the thing, though. They've been stealing."

  The five of them blinked.

  "Stealing?" Jordan asked.

  "They don't just murder those poor folk and move on," the Baron said. "As normal monsters might. They've been stripping the pces . When they raid a farm, they out the houses. Lug back whatever isn't nailed down. Then the silos too. The silos? What sort of goblin raids grain?" Even now, the Baron sounded baffled by the cept. "I don't know how they go about bringing it all back, but they do. They're especially fond of targeting trading caravans. Been harassing our roads for the past weeks. Crates of spices ailes, missing. Why would a goblin need spices? It doesn't make any sense."

  Natalie digested those annous, as perplexed as the Baron. Maybe his presence, him being there to discuss this mission with them personally, wasirely due to Liz, then. Natalie had resigned herself to this quest not being that iing. Routine, as far as a monster-killing quest would be. But it sounded like something genuinely strange was afoot. Not routine in the slightest. Rather, something that truly was worthy of the Baron's attention.

  Because goblins robbing trading caravans? Clearing out grain silos? Beyond just sounding more ahan usual—most monsters, especially low-level ones, were simply rabid creatures that o be put down—they were targeting valuables. And what did 'valuable' mean to a monster? Spices ailes? Were they doing something with what they were colleg? What i did they have in human goods at all?

  Holy, Natalie found herself surprised that Te had passed this quest off to them, some random first years. While the threat rating itself wasn't all that severe, the strangeness felt like it demanded higher attention. A real iigation.

  Then again, Natalie aeam weren't just 'some first years', were they? Besides having Elizabeth Beaumon oeam, they were also making waves as a group of nobodies perf much better than they should. Maybe Te had sent an appropriate party to scout out this situation. Maybe they were testing Natalie and her squad. It'd also expin why the raw difficulty rating—the sheer number of levels oo three—was greater than Natalie would have expected for a first-year quest.

  "Also," the Baron tinued, seeming pleased by how immediately ied their squad was, as perhaps any orator would be, "We've started tterns in their attacks. They're definitely more ahan the average goblin . If we're correct, we should be able to set you up in advance of one of their raids. Assuming things go well, and you cull their numbers, that'll help when you hunt down their base. Better to tackle an enemy divided, of course." He tilted his head. "Though, there is the matter of actually trag them down. That won't be as tedious as it sometimes is. Let me introduce you to Mister Varten," the Baron said, gesturing to his right. "A level six [Huhe best our city has to offer."