Explorer Moa

What am I doing here...?

Agh! Who are you? Don't talk to me! I'm just a Goblin, a harmless Goblin!

Have you come to help me? These Goblins have me counting ore all day long and I'm downright exhausted!

The spiders in the area keep creeping closer, which is distracting me from my work.

To top it all off, I also have a trap-happy Demon Hunter after me!

Sprite Messenger, it would help immeasurably if you would get rid of about 20 Viral Tarantulas and 20 Plague Tarantulas for me.

Perhaps you would also be so kind as to inform that Demon Hunter of my true identity so as to put an end to his chase.

This... this is the machine I saw in the shrine just a few days ago! I saw them testing it in the mine!

It destroyed an entire cliff face as if it was nothing!

I simply assumed it to be an engineering tool, not a weapon to be used against the Torrent Research Institute!

Go and report this to Saul at once, then hand the blueprint over to Madox.

I am sure he will know what to do with it.

"Waaaaaah!! If only I'd known! Why did no one tell me? I never would've done something like this! I have to lie down... I have to... I want my warm bed back at the Research Institute!" The shrill voice emanates from a person in disguise, but you instantly recognize her as Moa.

"Oh, this? I found this disguise at the manor, and it saved my life! Without it, the monsters would've had me for lunch. *sob* %n%...? *sniff* I don't suppose you want to help me? In my hour of need? I really need to get back to the Research Institute, but there are monsters everywhere, and I'm really scared that my true identity will be discovered on the way back and then... and then... waaaaahhh!!

Please... *sniff*... please get rid of all those terrifying tarantulas outside the manor...

"And whatever you do, don't speak to me or even look at me, otherwise people will know! Just act... casual." With that, Moa turns around and carries on with her business like nothing happened.

"Phew, what a relief. You really culled the local monster population," Moa says, now a lot calmer than before. It would prove to be a short-lived calm.

"B-b-but now we've stirred up a hornet's nest of even worse proportions by eliminating those monsters!

If only I could have predicted the outcome, I never would've... I just... I can't even... ...waaaaaaaahhh!!" Moa breaks down sobbing again, unable to control herself.

"Mpfgff... *sniff*... okay. All right. So sorry. It's just... there's a D-D-Demon Hunter standing guard outside the manor! He seems to think I'm some kind of goblin," Moa says nervously. She's all jitters now, but the wailing seems to have abated for the time being.

"Sometimes I catch him staring at me like a hawk, and even when I'm not looking I can feel his distant gaze. A few times he even came at me with a weapon!

The thing is, he has never given me a chance to explain myself. I can't even get near him. Can you come with me and help explain what's going on?

If you're not there with me, I'm afraid he'll try to kill me again!" Moa is on edge, and you sense that she's about to lose it again.

"Tell me, why does this have to happen to me? Why am I the unlucky one...?" Moa drones on.

"Attacked by monsters, chased by humans... what's next? Whisked away and sacrificed to the Sprite King?

"Oyyy, why won't he LISTEN to me?!" Moa asks gloomily.

"At this rate, I'm never going to see the Research Institute again... *sob*..."

"Why?! Why won't he believe us? Can't he see the truth when it's staring him in the face?" Moa is truly bewildered and looks to you for guidance.

"We need to come up with some other way to make him listen.

Maybe we just need to prove to him that we're truly on his side. The outskirts of the manor are crawling with Bug Soldiers. They're known to patrol the area and attack our people on sight, hindering the Research Institute's important work there.

If you get rid of a bunch of those Bug Soldiers, maybe he'll see that we have good intentions," Moa says hopefully.

"I haven't slept in days, you know... I'm constantly haunted by images of that murderous Demon Hunter!" Now that she mentions it, Moa does look utterly exhausted.

"We simply must make him understand, or else... or else... we're doomed!"

"My hope was that we would selflessly deal with some of those Bug Soldiers, asking for nothing in return, and that our Demon Hunter friend would give us the benefit of the doubt for once." But Moa remains disheartened.

"No such luck, though. Figures. We'll just have to think of another way.

I mean, I guess he's right--anyone can eliminate a few Bug Soldiers. What we really need are official papers!" Moa says with renewed vigor.

"And I know just the thing! Right here I have a certificate that PROVES I was at the Torrent Research Institute. If this doesn't convince him, nothing can.

So... here goes nothing. Take this certificate and show it to the Demon Hunter. If this doesn't work, then I'm all out of ideas. Also, good luck to you. I hope for your sake that you're a fast runner."

"%n%, you're back! And in one piece, too. And? Did you convince him? Does he believe us?" Moa is wearing her disguise, but the voice in unmistakable.

It's going to be another sleepless night for me unless we sort this mess out today!

With Marvin finally willing to hear me out, I removed half of my disguise just to avoid any further... misunderstandings," Moa says with as much tact as she can muster.

"You're not going to believe it! He finally believes me!! I showed him I'm a regular person and not some goblin.

Not only that, but I also impressed him with my courage, and now he wants me to work as an agent in disguise!

I'll stay dressed up as a goblin and help him gather intelligence on the monster lair. I always knew I had it in me," a proud Moa declares.