Questions, questions, questions. All Lak Lok wanted to know was when they would begin hunting for these so called murderers. When the round of questions had finished, the kobold chef's frustration was silenced by the large amount of money in Garrick's hands. It was possibly more money than he had handled in his entire life. He knew that Garrakg's code  Lak Lok swiped it and simply stared at it, not saying a single word. The most he’d ever received on a good moon was 50 dollars. Despite the Restauranteer’s Guild attempts to regulate minimum wages across the Continent, his past employers were more concerned about profit over assuring the livelihood of their chefs.  This was at least an entire year’s worth of savings. 

As far as he was concerned, each dollar was a brick in the foundations of Garrakg’s temple. Lak Lok slowly, with reverence, counted each dollar to make sure the amount was correct and that their employer hadn’t lied to him. He then turned towards the geriatric man and came down on one knee. 

“ Thank you, Mr Garrick.” Lak Lok prostrated his tiny 3 foot tall body down under his employer’s shadow. “ As Garrakg would say, a meal is to be shared and savored by everyone as well as yourself. Please, have one of these sacred talismans as a token of good faith.” 

Out from the bottom of his apron, Lak Lok took out a jingling crude effigy of Garrakg, carved out of bone, and strewn together with cheesecloth. It was heavily scented with the pungent aroma of cave garlic and forest cloves. To Lak Lok's lizard palette, it was quite an exquisite smell but for the uninitiated senses of a human, it was downright nauseating. Mr Garrick's face was of a sickly pallor as he tried to back away from the kobold cleric. 

“ It’s really not necessary - “ 

Lak Lok shoved it forcefully into his hand before he could reject his gift. The rest of the room was beginning to empty out, most of them forming into a small retinue as the Genasi retired down to the small bar in the establishment. Should he follow them? Lak Lok's grumbling stomach made the decision for him. Even if the Caraway Inn's menu was less than desirable, the only other noteworthy establishment in town was a root bread bakery. Lak Lok sighed and trailed the crowd of adventurers down towards the ground floor of the inn. He scrambled up top one of the stools, next to the left of the Genasi. It took a long while for the waiter to notice his flailing hand in the air. Lak Lok made a note that his future restaurant would have stools with longer chair legs to accommodate for the more vertically challenged races of the Continent. 

" Order, sir?" The half-elf waiter asked, taking out a rod of charcoal stuck behind his ear to write down the order. 

“ Bring me one of your baked hydra necks. Medium rare. And a glass of spring water, if you would be so kind.”  

No one could mess up a good hydra when done well. One did have to be careful about hydra rearing, though. Too many heads and the heart wouldn’t be able to pump blood to sustain all of them. The half-elf waiter nodded.

" Anything else?"  

“ Oh, there is one more thing......” Suddenly, Lak Lok grabbed the collar of the waiter with strength that one wouldn’t know the straw-thin skeleton of Kobolds would possess. “ If I find a single burnt scale on my baked hydra, I will force feed your entrails to you. Do we have an understanding?” The waiter was quick to nod. “ Good, now leave.” 

The waiter stumbled off, wildly trying to get away from the psychotic killer kobold. Whilst waiting for his order, Lak Lok tried to break the awkwardness with some small talk. He coughed out loud to attract the attention of the female Genasi and spoke slowly. There was a boiling question in him about the Genasi that needed to be addressed. 

“ Excuse me, I don’t mean to pry upon your private affairs but I happened to spot you and that Moon elf having quite an amiable conversation together." Lak Lok paused for a moment before continuing on. " Are you and that moon elf fiances by any chance? If so, please know that I am available to officiate your wedding as a chosen cleric of Garrakg.” 

Ah, his spring water had arrived. He then slowly took a sip of his spring water, letting the fizzy bubbles dance around in his mouth, whilst waiting for the Genasi's reaction. 

" There's no charge, if that's what you're worried about," he added.