Ruger saw Green's smile and knew he had caught the teasing in his words. His knowledge now was naturally far beyond what it had been during his days as a Wizard Apprentice. Whatever his aptitude might be, it certainly had nothing to do with Kobolds. Even transforming himself into a Dragonborn Kobold would not do much good.
Green explained that, after receiving guidance from the bald old Wizard, he had stopped putting things off. He had returned to the Knowledge Temple to report on his assignment, then begun preparing for his advancement with his gains and accumulated savings. After another two years or so, he had completed all the preparations needed to become a Formal Wizard. He had succeeded on his very first attempt, undergoing a transformation of his life that gave him the ability to face the world and the passage of time with greater composure.
Green looked at Ruger with something like admiration, then inexplicably grew wistful.
"Your Excellency, you always surprise me. Even when you aren't around, you've managed to surprise me more than once. When I left the Black Prison of Blood Castle and took that contract back to the Knowledge Temple-you should remember this-the contract I held hadn't been fully fulfilled in the Black Prison, as that gentleman had stipulated. It still needed the Knowledge Temple's approval before the Divine Object Art could finally be added to its collection. The multiple nested clauses left me no room to maneuver. When I returned to the Knowledge Temple, exhausted and apprehensive, and unrolled the scroll, I actually saw an Arcane Imprint that hadn't been there before... I even wondered whether my memory was wrong and thought I'd botched everything..."
Green still looked wistful as he recounted it. Clearly, he really had received quite a fright at the