Limping away from Gordon's villa, I can't help but be irrationally worried that he'll come bursting through the door and chase me down the street again. Which wouldn't be very hard for him considering my ankle. I really hope the city isn't as dangerous as he made out it was on the boat.

I look back to the doorway without stopping. By chance I manage to notice an eyebug that's sitting in the dark on Gordon's windowsill, staring in through the shutters. The transparent insect-like demon takes a final look inside Gordon's room before turning towards me. Apparently not liking that I'd noticed it, the eyebug takes flight on glassy wings and rises out of view and into the night sky. It'll probably keep watching me from above. The little hypocrite, I never like being watched by you either. It makes sense there'd be one here right now though, people say that there is always one nearby before and after important events. Like when people get married, give birth, or whenever someone dies. 

Although the flying glass eyes aren't uncommon to see at other times either, so they're hardly harbingers of any sort. When I was a kid I even managed to catch one in the olive grove. No one really knows what the little demons are, but most believe they're the eyes of our ancestors watching us. Although I think the Cult of The Infinite believe they're the agents for a bigger Demon. Like for a capital 'D' kind of Demon.

Actually, the Cult of The Infinite might help me right now. The preachers that would sometimes come through the Southern Archipelago would say that helping the sick and destitute was one of their main tenets, I consider myself both sick and destitute right now, and I'll accept all help. If I see one I'll ask about it.

I'm still just aimlessly walking through the streets of Grabosh. I have all my loot in my sack, 7ish bronze nails and a heavy knife on my belt. 
I try to use the two Mage Spires as landmarks, but I wasn't really paying attention before now, so other than knowing which direction east and west are they don't help much. Anyway, I could tell that much by the moon Phobos rising.

The streets are thinning out as I walk eastward, the buildings are becoming poorer and soon I find myself walking through an arched gateway built into an ancient ruin of a wall. There are fields and rolling hills of pasture ahead of me.
The wall is truly ancient looking. It's mortarless, made from uncut orange stone and about two and a half metres tall. The stones are coming loose and I can see that it's collapsed in a few places as it winds the circumference of the city. I think the walls made on Perrifare to fence our goats look sturdier. But what do I know about city defences? I guess Grabosh hasn't seen war in a long time, and we're far too deep in the miasma for mainlander raids. Even Perrifare was too deep, and Grabosh is at the centre of the Crater Sea.
I pass the open and seemingly unguarded gate out into the countryside. 
"Stop you, state your merchant city left foot." Says an incredibly bored voice in Graboshen from behind me. I think I misunderstood what he said, Graboshen isn't my strongest language.
I turn and look back towards the voice, where an orc with a shield and short spear stands. He's leaning against the wall next to the open gate I passed through, I must have missed him while walking past. I think he's a guard, he's dressed in grey leather armour with red decoration. Painted in the centre of his chest is a crown surrounded by dolphins. I assume he's a city guard that's watching the gate. Although his armour looks strangely homemade.

Shit, I have no idea what to say to a guard. I guess tell the truth? I'll fail to mention I killed a man but I am a victim of a crime I think. I would feel better if I knew anything about Graboshen law. I need to find a language we both speak first though.

"Picklish?" I ask, he shakes his head. Well like most islanders I know more than two languages. "Přorlä?" 
Another head shake.
Ok well, there's only one more language I speak well.
"Nudraki?"
"Very well citizen, let me repeat. State your business leaving the city." He says in accented Nudraki.
That's convenient, I speak much better Nudraki than Graboshen. "I was brutalized by a man, and I'm now trying to find somewhere safe to sleep. I heard it's dangerous in the city, which I believe, so I decided to leave to sleep under a tree somewhere." That's all true at least.
"Very well, as you were citizen."

Errr... That's it? 

"You aren't going to ask any questions? Or help me?" I ask.
"Hm? Oh sure, I could. But I mean, I'm not really meant to. I'm meant to ask anyone who looks suspicious that. But if you aren't a smuggler or didn't commit a crime yourself, it's not really anything to do with me."
"I mean someone definitely committed a crime against me."
"Sorry miss, you'll need to tell a magistrate that. The Guards of The Grabosh Historic Wall have a strict no intuition policy."
"Strict no intuition policy? Historic wall? What's a magistrate?"
The guard looks a lot more animated after I mentioned the wall. "Ah, curious about the wall are you miss?" I think he likes this wall. "The Historic Wall of Grabosh is the site of many of the defining battles of the beginning of the age of the orc. It was here, five hundred and thirty five years ago, that The Band of The 40,000 Grandsons, that's Bog'ra the Virile's grandsons miss, repelled the Vile Goblin Hoard, no offence intended miss, who tried to extinguish civilized orc society dozens of times. It was on these walls that the first King of Grabosh declared this country, and he initiated The Guards of The Wall to protect his city."
"It doesn't look like the wall would be very useful at protecting the city anymore, it looks like someone could almost just kick it down. And it's not very... imposing?"
"Erm, well you see miss, the wall was built before the orcish age you know, and um, they didn't have the same masonry we have now. And goblins are only, well you would know, they're only little. I don't think you need a very imposing wall to repel them." He seems defensive after I critiqued the wall. "And me and the boys, er, that's the Historic Wall of Grabosh Society miss, we did try and get a fund to refurbish the wall. But it's zoned as a historic site, just trying to get the blooming building permits was a headache and a half."
"Are you actually a guard? Or do you just stand here for fun?" I ask the guard, I'm no longer sure he's really guard material.

"Oh I mean no, well I mean yes, I mean I am a guard, paid by the city 'n everythin'. But we're not here to guard the wall really, well except that one time with the vandals. Mostly just here for the tourists miss, the society gives tours here and everything.

"But we do check carts for smuggling, and are meant to hold any suspicious persons caught in the middle of a crime until the magistrate's men come. Those the blokes you want to tell about your being brutalized, miss."

He thinks for a second, "You can tell me anyway though if ya like, nothin' ever happens on night shift, and I do get bored."

I really wish I knew if killing Gordon in self-defence counted as a crime here. It probably doesn't count, which means I should tell the guard. But if it is considered murder it would be really dumb to tell the first guard I meet, well 'Guard Of The Historic Wall Society' anyway. I look at the 'guard', he doesn't seem malicious, just really bored and strangely enthusiastic about walls. I did also steal a bunch of stuff though. And goblins are too protective of our loot to give it up once we have it. I can't risk it, I might be a criminal.
"Um no, thank you. I need to find somewhere to sleep. Unless you know somewhere I can go? I think I need a job too." I need money to get to NextMint to escape my crimes.

The guard seems disappointed I'm not hanging around. But he does consider my question. "Maybe the Dirtytoes? Elderly goblin farmers, up that road maybe 1200 metres, then the first house past the big dead oak. They're good folk, and missus Dirtytoes would want to help you, not even mind being woken up, I'm sure of it, they were, um, cult of the infinities or what have you, even speak Picklish just fine."

Bingo.

"Otherwise you can probably sleep anywhere that's off the main road. No one's out and about this time of night."
"Thank you very much, sir, hope something interesting happens." I bow and turn towards the road towards the Dirtytoes' residence.
"Thank you very much little miss, if anyone criminal comes looking, I'll arrest them on account of brutalising you."

I try not to visibly stiffen as he mentions anyone coming after me. He's a strange man but it would be sad if he stopped liking me just because I might be a criminal.

I wave goodbye and then follow the road the guard had pointed out. 
It's very pleasant countryside. 

Unlike Perrifare, which is steep and rocky and dry. Grabosh seems to be made up of gentle hills and shallow valleys, with small burbling brooks between. I have no idea where the water for the streams comes from, I doubt they have much more rain here than anywhere else in the Crater. I pass forests, farms, orchards, groves and meadows. All with a lushness that's rare in the Crater.

I'm also not used to not being able to see the horizon. 
Other than the distant twin Mage Spire, I can't see the other side of the island at all. I've been on 5 or 6 islands in the Southern Archipelago and not one was so large as to cross the horizon. Including our largest island Pickland. But all of the Southern Archipelago put together is a fraction of the size of Grabosh. If the Graboshens have all this good farmland, it's no wonder why they're so much wealthier than us. It's no wonder why the orcs took it from us goblins.