Chapter 90: The Chicken Thief

The posting in Silverleaf Village proved much quieter than Raymond had expected. The three of them took turns patrolling the village outskirts, the nearby roads, and the route to the mountain pass, watching for signs of gnolls or other monsters.

Patrols from the town guard visited every day to exchange information and make sure the village was safe. They also often brought supplies, leaving Raymond with little to worry about when it came to food.

Though Silverleaf lay on the outskirts of Blackstone's territory, there were few incidents, and life was peaceful. Raymond asked the soldiers to bring him several wooden practice swords so he could continue training in the village.

Sparring with Henk and Mara using his sharpened sword would not only cause serious wear to the blade, but could easily hurt someone by accident. Wooden swords were the best choice. Raymond specifically chose one with a grip long enough for both hands and an overall length close to his new sword's, so he could get used to handling a hand-and-a-half sword.

A week later, he was sparring with Mara in an open space in Silverleaf. She still used a more nimble wooden sword and was struggling to evade his fierce attacks. Though quick and agile, she found it hard to gain an advantage against him.

“You two! I have something urgent to tell you.” The voice interrupted their practice.

Mara raised her sword to block a descending blow, then retreated several steps. Raymond brought his wooden sword to a halt. “Let's stop here.”

He turned toward the speaker, an elderly man he recognized. Both of the man's sons worked in Blackstone, leaving him alone in the village.

“Has something happened?” Raymond asked politely.

He had barely finished speaking when something struck his left shoulder. He turned to see Mara withdrawing her wooden sword, looking defiant. He glared at her. “Didn't I say we were finished?”

Seeing his pain, Mara gave a wicked little grin. “I didn't say we were finished. But now we are.” She dropped the wooden sword, snorted at him, and stepped aside.

The old man slowly approached Raymond, looking anxious. “One of my chickens is missing. They were all there last night, but this morning one was gone!”

“A missing chicken?” Raymond was surprised. It was a small matter to him, but a real loss to a villager who kept chickens. And since they were stationed here, he had to investigate the theft. Perhaps a gnoll or some other monster was responsible, though it seemed unlikely.

“Please show me.”

“Thank you. Thank you both.” The old man thanked Raymond and Mara, then led the way.

Raymond glanced back at Mara. She pursed her lips but raised no objection, following behind him.

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“Please don't walk behind me, Mara,” he said. “I don't like having people behind me. It brings back bad memories, especially after that sneak attack of yours.”

“That wasn't a sneak attack. You weren't paying attention,” she insisted. Still, she moved alongside him and gave him an amused look. “What, do you get poked from behind a lot?”

Raymond rolled his eyes. He did not want to argue with her about it, so he kept quiet and followed the old man.

They passed several thatched cottages and soon reached his home. It was a small house with an enclosed yard behind it. Chickens from the coop wandered around the yard.

“Here. They were all there when I shut the coop last night. This morning, one was missing. At first I thought she'd wandered off. I searched for ages before coming to find you.” The old man looked miserable. “She was an old laying hen. I'd been planning to send the eggs to my son...”

“Don't worry just yet. Let me have a look.”

After a few words of comfort, Raymond went to examine the coop. He could make little of the churned-up soil in the yard. The low wall rose no higher than his thighs, so theft by a person was certainly possible.

He had been crouching silently beside the coop for some time when Mara spoke.

“Well? You've been looking for ages. Have you found anything? Can't you even read tracks this simple?”

Raymond paused, then stood and studied the half-orc again. “What have you found, then? Or did you just want an excuse to take a jab at me?”

Mara bristled. “Who says I haven't found anything? Whatever stole it was obviously small and light. And I think it was on its own, not part of a group.”

Raymond looked at the ground. “Tell me how you worked that out.”

“Could it have been a wolf?” the old man put in. “We used to have wolves near the village, though none have appeared for a long time.”

Mara waved impatiently and pointed at a patch of soft, wet earth. “There are a few clear footprints here. Apart from this old man's, there's another set.”

Raymond went over to look. He knew some rudimentary tracking, but picking out footprints in this mud was beyond him. “I can only see a few marks in the mud. How do you know they're another set of footprints?”

“You can't even see that?” Mara gave him a mocking look, then eagerly hurried over and pointed out several shallow impressions. “Something clearly walked across here. The prints are smaller than the old man's, and the steps are shorter. Of course, it might just have been creeping along. I'd say whatever left them was small. The prints are shallow, so it probably wasn't heavy either. And it walked on two feet. Definitely not a wolf or some other animal like that.”

“Could it be a goblin?” The old man looked alarmed. He had heard stories about goblins but had never seen one. Mara's explanation immediately made him suspect them.

Raymond rubbed his chin, thinking. The tribe led by the Dragonblood Goblin had operated mainly in the southwestern part of Blackpine Forest, near Graypine Village, in the opposite direction from Silverleaf. But that did not mean there were no goblins here. They did not all belong to the same tribe. A lone goblin, or another small group, might be active nearby.

“Let's follow the tracks first,” he said after some thought. “We don't know if it was a goblin yet, let alone whether it had companions.”

Mara folded her arms and lifted her chin, watching him and waiting for him to speak.

Raymond ignored her and addressed the old man. “I'll investigate. Close up the coop and tell the village head. If Henk comes back from his patrol, let him know too. Mara and I will follow the tracks for now.”

“Of course. Thank you both.” The old man looked at him gratefully.

“Come along, Lady Mara,” Raymond said, looking at her. “Let's follow this trail and see what we can find.”

“It's just some little chicken thief. Is this really necessary?” Mara asked impatiently. “Even if it is a goblin, so what? How much trouble can one goblin cause?”

Raymond explained patiently. “Normally, I wouldn't get involved. But don't forget that this is our job. Now that we know there might be goblins here, we have to take precautions. I don't want anyone suffering because we were careless. Understand?”

“Yes, yes. You're the boss,” Mara said dismissively. “And a very fussy boss at that.”