Amir’s excitement carried him through the rest of the day and halfway into the night, though eventually he was stopped by a novel problem: How does one obtain live rats?

Places with rat problems tended to have traps or poison that would leave them quite dead. And if they did not, Amir would still have to know about where to look, set up his own snares, then wait while periodically checking he had not made a major mistake in the process. An overall relatively time-intensive task while he still felt on a tight schedule.

It was therefore with some trepidation that he went to look for the one acquaintance he thought suited to get what he needed. Amir sincerely hoped Pebblethrow would not take offense at any implications of being paid to gather rats, but she was by far the most street-smart person he knew… The Academium was many things but back alley was not one of them.

She was not hiding behind the corner to Gramma’s bakery… which made Amir re-evaluate how realistic the plan was. Where would he even look? The next possible spot was the alley she had brought him to the time before but that was dubious at best. After some hesitation, he decided to try anyway. He could always pivot if things did not work out.

On the way there, Amir spotted a pet store and realized that would be a viable alternative. However, upon entering he quickly found out that the animals were sold at a large premium… and he would feel guilty using them for possibly lethal experiments given how enthusiastically caring the clerk seemed. So instead, he merely bought a low but wide cage that should fit plenty of rats.

When he did find his way back to the back alley he did find a goblin, though not the one he had been looking for. Instead he found another youth, similarly ragged but a boy instead. Frankly, Amir was not the best judge of goblin features, but he did notice a tooth like amulet around their neck.

“Good day,” Amir greeted with a slight smile.

“Day,” the goblin replied with an eyebrow raised to the hairline.

“I am not sure if this is a reasonable request… but would you be willing to tell someone I would like to meet?”

“Who asking?”

“Amir.”

“Gobsmack,” the goblin introduced himself back.

“Does that… make you the best at smacking goblins?” Amir marveled.

“Yes,” he nodded. “Good wobble make lesson stick.”

“Several books I have read argue the opposite,” Amir couldn’t help but point out.

“Gobs, not humans,” the goblin shook his head, then tapped it thrice with his knuckles. “Skull thicker.”

“I suppose I am not the expert on the topic,” he reluctantly surrendered.

“True,” the goblin nodded deeply. “Who you looking for?”

“Pebblethrow,” Amir said, somewhat hesitantly.

“She making friends with humans now?” the goblins asked, ending the question with a strange half-cackle.

“That would be for her to answer,” Amir deflected.

“K! Will get,” the goblin nodded, then turned around. “No setting magic traps.”

“Doing that would be incredibly illegal,” Amir frowned at just the implications. “Wait, how do you even…?” but the goblin had already disappeared into the same gap Pebblethrow had left through on their last meeting.

Amir moved closer to the nearby wall to lean against it… then took a look and decided to spare his clothes such torture. So instead he just stood around awkwardly. It was about 15 minutes later that Pebblethrow arrived, Gobsmack following behind her.

“Think all gobs know others?” She asked him with a truly extraordinary frown.

“Well, did it work?” Amir smiled slightly.

“What want?” Pebblethrow sighed.

“Well, I do happen to have something of a business proposition,” Amir said. “And I might become rather busy soon, so I thought I still owe you some questions.”

“Ah, k, money first,” she nodded enthusiastically. “What idea.”

“Well, I find myself suddenly in need of some living rats,” he rattled the cage slightly. “Since I do not have a preferred source, I figured asking you first would be only polite."

“Do I look like Ratcatch?” she squinted at him.

“No, but I thought you might introduce us,” Amir grinned. “Of course, if that is not reasonable I will look elsewhere. Merely thought you deserve the first offer.

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“Little coin per rat,” she said after a moment.

“These?” Amir quickly withdrew an iron cent, not the lowest denomination but the smallest by diameter. Pebblethrow enthusiastically nodded. He had no idea what the street rate for rodents usually was but that pricepoint would not impact his bottom line - magical ingredients were rather expensive compared to this. “That is agreeable.”

“Good deal?” Pebblethrow looked back at Gobsmack.

“Good deal,” the other goblin nodded. That implied… deference? Some kind of mentorship? Maybe Amir was also just misreading goblin social dynamics.

“When do you think it could be ready?” he asked, handing over the cage. It was a bit larger on Pebblethrow’s smaller frame but not ridiculously so. “I think five or six would fit.”

“Hour,” she shrugged.

“So fast?”

“Lot of rats,” Gobsmack chuckled.

“My question then,” Pebblethrow said. “What Gramma like?”

“Gramma?” Gobsmack spoke up.

“That grandma called Gramma, is rules,” Pebblethow explained but squinted at the other goblin over the interruption.

“Yes, she does insist on being called such,” Amir added.

“Thought her name Rose.”

“That is her legal name, yes,” Amir nodded. “But she prefers Gramma.”

“Ah, change name again but not want to forget the old,” Gobsmack suddenly exclaimed in some kind of understanding. “K. Continue.”

“So, what like?” Pebblethrow repeated.

“Well, I suppose she has always been kind to me,” Amir said. “The kind of person to always help someone in front of them, you know. I think she enjoys running the bakery, even though she is aging now. Hmm… what else could I say? You know what she looks like.”

“Is good enough,” Pebblethrow nodded as if that meager description was exactly what she had been after. “What about tall-ears? She good to them.”

“Tall-ears?” Amir asked in confusion.

“Elf,” Gobsmack approached, giving Pebblethrow a gentle bonk. “Use the word, stupid.”

“Elf mean nothing,” she groaned.

“It mean tall-ears,” Gobsmack shook his head but didn’t go for another blow.

“As far as Elves are concerned, several frequent the Bakery and are quite friendly with Rose,” Amir returned the conversation back to rails.

“Ok, what about small-men?” she asked.

“Dwarfs,” Gobsmack translated automatically.

“They tend to stick to their own parts, though I know two who go semi-regularly,” Amir nodded, curious where this was heading.

“Scale…”

“Lizard-folk,” Gobsmack corrected

“I know exactly three Zarians in this city, all from the Academium - I understand they are much more common down South. I don’t think I have seen any at the bakery?” Amir shook his head. “Can they even ingest wheat produce? I was relatively sure they were carnivorous.”

“Never seen Gramma speak with one?” Pebblethrow asked, somewhat dejectedly.

“Hmm, not personally,” Amir shook his head. “But I heard a story about how she once challenged a wandering Zarian hunter to a staring contest to get a discount on exotic meat. I could not stop laughing about it.”

“Why?” Pebblethrow asked.

“Well, Zarians blink a lot less than other species. Something about a thicker mucus layer over their eyes. Challenging one in a staring contest is so ridiculous it's probably an idiom in some parts.”

“So lost,” Pebblethrow nodded.

“Stupid, would be bad story,” Gobsmack instead had a better idea.

“She used a potion of unblinking stare to win,” Amir nodded. Lady Hawthorne had many stories but they were scarcely boring. “I recall the Zarian was so incredulous by being outwitted that he gave her the meat for free, though that might have been an embellishment.”

“Stupid potion,” Pebblethrow gaped.

“Not stupid, good for great archer,” Gobsmack showed his surprising wisdom again.

“Alright, what about gobs?” Pebblethrow returned to her question.

Amir opened his mouth to speak, then paused. Could he recall that? It seemed so easy and obvious that he had already drawn breath for an answer. But as he searched his memory, he found their suspicious absence.

Yes, goblins tended to be economically poorer, such as the two before him, but that was hardly universal. Smartspeak, for example, half owned a large workshop with her husband. He knew several other well-off goblins, so it wasn’t to the point where none could afford to eat at a reasonably priced bakery. It was either a statistical wonder or an altogether worse implication.

“Ah… I think I now see your point,” Amir frowned. “That is troubling.”

“Is it?” Gobsmack asked. “She still treat you well.”

“How do I even answer that in the moment?” Amir asked. “It is a presumption still, but should it prove true I would think less of her, yes. But I would want to know why. She has always treated everyone well - oftentimes even people who did not deserve it.

“Easy,” Gobsmack chuckled darkly, then hummed: “Briar, Briar. Call you liar.”

“The Briar War?” Amir did not recognise the tune, though the connection was not hard to make. “I suppose she is at an age to remember it, perhaps she had lost someone? Still, even if she does not welcome goblins, would some not stumble in every so often?”

“It smell like death,” Pebblethrow shuddered.

“Old trick, put shaman bone under door,” Gobsmack simply nodded. “All gobs feel them from close.”

“That is… disturbing,” Amir said.

“She know every old trick, and some new,” Gobsmack shrugged.

“I cannot just take you at face value,” Amir sighed. “Whatever the truth is, I definitely want to talk with her about it. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding of some sort.

“And if it not?” Gobsmack’s gaze suddenly seemed a lot more intense.

“Then I will be incredibly conflicted,” Amir self analyzed. “Ask for her reasons and try to judge them myself. Afterwards, try to convince her… see if there is a way to alter a mind set in its stone. And if not, her smiles would lose their comfort and I would drift away from her.”

“Like that,” Gobsmack asked with tangible doubt. “Over gobs.”

“What are we if not people?” Amir met his eyes. “Biased and flawed, defined by imperfections, but each an individual. I find it hard to like people who deny the obvious.”