We were given some money and recognition as an official order. That was good as we were not really recognized until then. It was a gray area. The old order of paladins were angry and called us illegitimate. Ollie and all the other inquisitors were sitting the conflict out. Now that we got both the non-aggression pact with Sandario and now the Church of the Moon, we were just as legitimate as another knightly order. That was fine with me. I went back to the fort after to play with my kids for a bit. They were both really happy to see me. It was then that I got a request by a group of villagers. A monster had attacked them and they were not entirely sure what it was. They got together as much money as they could afford and gave it to us to go with them and determine what was going on. I accepted the quest and took my party to follow them to their home. When we got there, there was a lot of destruction. It seemed as though half of the homes were set on fire. I did not know what could have caused it. What we could do right away was heal the injured. That helped them out. We also went on patrol.
Four days later, we came across a naked man. The man was tan and well muscled. He had long bronze colored hair and eyes the same color. We seem to have caught him by surprise because he pretended to hide by using his hands to dig into the sand. We stopped him and he started talking to us. He looked from us to the village multiple times. It was obvious he wanted to go over there. Eventually, we asked him where he came from. He glared at the village and said "Those humans in that village stole treasure from my hoard! I want my treasure back. They attacked me so I burned their stuff down. Maybe they will give me my stuff back when I ask this time." I could tell from the explanation that he was not actually a human. I told him to go home. He shook his head. "No. I want my treasure and I am going to get it." he said firmly. He was still looking at the village. I rolled my eyes and asked if he would leave them alone if they gave him his stuff. He thought about it. "I want to eat the one that stole from me, but I'll let them go if they apologize." I nodded and told him to follow me inside.
Since the creature was not that aggressive, I thought that things could be worked out. It probably was not even an evil monster to begin with. He was definitely a monster NPC if he wanted to eat a human. When we got to the center of the village, we called out the adults. They looked alarmed to see him. I guessed was telling the truth when he said he came here before. "This creature says an adventurer took some of his treasure. He will stop trying to attack if he gets his things and the one who took it apologizes." I explained. The village elder said "We called you because we wanted you to rid us of this monster for us." The naked man growled. The villagers flinched back from him. "I'm getting rid of him. Just give him his things back." I told them. The elder fumed for a bit before he called out a name. A villager slowly walked out in the center. The naked man sniffed the air and growled. He charged and tackled the man. "I know your scent. You stole from me!" he said. The villager looked at us in terror. I put a hand on it's shoulder. He turned his head sharply to glare. "No eating if he says sorry." I said.
He was the one that promised after all. "Fine. I will let him go if he apologizes and returns every piece he stole." he said. The man whimpered and said he was sorry until he was a sobbing mess. The creature licked at his eyes to get at the tears. "I can tell you are sorry. I will let you go. Be warned human, I will not hesitate to eat you if you try to cross me. Return my treasure." The man was allowed up. He crawled away until he could make it to his feet long enough to walk. He went to his home and walked out with a chest full of gold. The creature looked pleased. He took the chest and counted each and every piece with relish. When he was done, he growled in anger. "I am short fifteen pieces of gold. Not to mention the Staff of Sparks I gained from that foolish wizard I battled. Where is it!?" he demanded. The man threw seven pieces of gold to the chest. "I needed the rest to pay off my debts to a guildsman in Dune City. I sold off the staff as well. I needed money for my family! You gotta forgive me!" The creature was furious and tackled him again. The man yelped in terror as he fell to the ground.
