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Post by Malcolm on Jan 30, 2022 18:54:11 GMT -6
What happened after that point was a little up in the air. The request, as far as he understood these things, were sometimes merely for the effort of trying to achieve the objective that the requester asked for, rather than a success -- which struck him as a stupid way of doing things. If someone didn’t come back having done what he had asked them to, he wasn’t about to just pay them for the time; what way did he have of knowing they weren’t just lying to his face to cheat him out of coin?
But that didn’t preclude him from taking advantage of the foolishness of someone else, of course. If they wanted to throw their money away, then so be it.
Still, this was probably the actual doll in question. And he supposed he had Cashew to thank for having found it, even if he did wish it had come about with a bit more intent.
(16)
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Post by Malcolm on Jan 30, 2022 18:54:21 GMT -6
“Fine, credit where credit is due,” he said, and grudgingly scratched the squirming little creature under the chin. He didn’t have to -- or get to -- do so for very long, as Cashew was a restless and energetic sort of creature now that he had grown comfortable enough to gambol about in what was probably his usual manner. The little creature indulged in the attention only a moment before he squirmed away again, running back and forth in aimless little starts and stops. Malcolm, observing him, could only sigh. There was probably not much of a future to be had in trying to teach this thing a little dignity and decorum, and he was considering whether it would even be worth the effort of making the attempt anymore.
That was a question that could be settled later though. For now, they ought to head back and drop this doll off
(17)
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Post by Malcolm on Jan 30, 2022 18:56:33 GMT -6
He had had just about enough of walking around in a cemetery anyway, and besides, he had better things to be doing with his time if there was no other reason to be staying here. The sooner they got back, the sooner he would get paid too, which was always the first and foremost thing in Malcolm’s mind. One might say that he was shallow for always prioritizing money so highly, but money made the world go round… And in a place where he had little enough in reputation and influence, money was the shortcut in getting him what and where he wanted. Why would he prioritize anything else? After all, he had no intention of staying here in this wretched beast-infested city any longer than he had to either.
“Come, Cashew,” he said, and by some small miracle the command actually worked the way it ought to this time.
(18)
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Post by Malcolm on Jan 30, 2022 18:58:53 GMT -6
Cashew bounded along behind Malcolm in a manner that might generously have been called obedient, and the two of them took their leave of the place -- not quite so expediently as Malcolm might have wished, since he did have to stop every so often to call an errant Cashew to his side -- but still in better time than they might have made if Cashew hadn't listened to him at all.
... They would be working on that, of course. Malcolm wasn't looking forward to the process, but he knew it had to be done if they were ever to get anywhere with putting Cashew to work.
The walk back seemed shorter, if only because Malcolm knew he had the pay to look forward to, rather than the arduous task of finding a doll in a cemetery. The girl who had made the request was no longer there, so he headed to the shop instead.
(19)
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Post by Malcolm on Jan 30, 2022 19:01:13 GMT -6
It wasn't precisely the right place to drop off the doll, but it would do in a pinch, and at length he managed to talk some member of the staff into taking the thing off his hands and holding it until the family came for it. A glorified lost and found, this place. Still, this was much to be preferred, at least for Malcolm, than waiting around here in person or, gods forbid, tracking down the little girl's address and making a house call.
It wasn't the worst job he had ever taken, but he really would be very glad when he finally graduated beyond doing these sorts of inane favors for random townsfolk. There was just no telling how soon that would be, so in the meantime he supposed he had more of these to look forward to for the foreseeable future... though maybe Cashew would be more helpful by then.
(20)
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Post by NPC on Feb 23, 2022 21:11:32 GMT -6
Congratulations, you have successfully completed the quest! Your QP will be added to the bank and your prize will be sent out shortly.
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