You don't have time for this

“Alright, you got me curious,” you admit, “I guess I have some time until I need to return to my mentor. But I really need some information before I go back. So please don’t just waste my time.”

Justin seems not happy at all with your decision but the guard and the halfelf both block his attempt to any hostile reactions. They promised to tell you and seem to fully understand that you have other things in mind than playing Justin's dump games. Justin, growls something you don't understand and leaves angry. You want to stop him to smoothen things, but the guard stops you gently. He tells you that Justin regularly behaves like this and after an hour of cursing and drinking selfmade ****, he will get calm again.

Soon, the halfelf introduces himself as Ebdion and the guard is called Rorin. They tell you they are friends with Justin since they were just born. They know he is not easy to deal with. Especially for outsiders or people who look more skilled and successfull than him, which is honestly not difficult. The good thing is, that Rorin tells you very quickly about everything the guard has already found out. There are five victims and one adventurer who went missing while trying to solve the problem for the village. The farms close to the forest had the most attacks and the guard assumes that the monster lives in one of the caves. Sadly, there are some in the forest and they are too tight to search them with a big group of soldiers.

When you ask them if there are any other places close to the farms, Ebdion mentions that there also is the old bandit hideout. A rundown military outpost from a long forgotten war. Sometimes bandits hide there. Rorin wants to push that aside, but you want to hear more. Chimeras are created by dark mages to be living weapons. They can understand simple commands and often are used to buildings rather than caves. This could be exactly the information you looked for.

“Well, that's fascinating indeed,” Rorin mumbles and nods impressed, “I had no Idea. And I better tell the captain of the guard about this. He will want to know this for sure. Maybe he is impressed enough to give me a raise. Hey, Ebdion, how do you think are my chances?”

“It is more likely a dragon appears out of nowhere and kills the monster for you,” Ebdion replies and gins, “by the ay it is getting dark. We need to hurry if we want to get home in time. But before we go, Clare, I hope I don't ask for too much, but would you mind a little kiss for good luck? Sorry, you are a beauty and I just had to try.”

“I think that's alright,” you say and grin naughty, “I mean, you did help me a lot and since your friend most like doesn't get a raise, we can call it a consolation prize. But only one for each.”

You give Rorin the promised kiss on the cheek, and Ebdion get's one on the forehead. Then you say goodbye and leave. And you must say this was nice. Talking with some guys who are just like your old friends in Hardwood. You still wonder if you missed something by refusing Justin's offer. But you can't have everything. The most important thing is, you have the information for Tocar.